The Bet
by YourEyesAreLove
Summary: Crossover WOWP fic. Alex loses a bet to Harper and now must find a girl to date. She goes to a bookstore only to stumble upon Mitchie Torres. Sort of an AU fic. It's hopefully a lot better than it sounds. Mitchie/Alex
1. Crash

**AN- This is sort of an AU fic. I'm just experimenting with the character's personalities.**

**Disclaimer- I don't own anything but the storyline :D**

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"What about that girl?"

Alex looked at a girl who just entered the coffee shop.

"Harper, are you seriously going to make me do this?" Alex turned back to her friend.

"Heck yes! You lost the bet. Serves you right for doubting me. I told you I could refrain from talking about Justin for a month! By the way, didn't he look too cute today?" Harper gushed, "oh, what about that girl?" She pointed at a girl sitting at a table in the corner wearing all black, sporting numerous facial piercings.

"You know I was joking about the bet. And eww, no. Too goth for me." Alex cringed. "Look, if I have to do this, can I at least pick my own girl?"

"Ugh, fine. But let's go over the rules again." Harper said and Alex groaned in annoyance. "Okay, so you can't tell the girl about the bet, and you can't stop dating her until you get a kiss from her. It doesn't count if you kiss her first or ask her. She has to initiate one kiss before the bet is complete." Harper droned on.

"Fine, fine. Okay." Alex looked around the coffee shop at all of the girls. "I don't see anyone in here I like. Let's bail. I need to pick up a book for Justin.

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"What book does Justin need? I bet it's something really interesting. Justin's so exciting." Harper rambled while following Alex through aisles of books.

"Oh, yeah. 'The Wonderful World of Wombats' sounds like a real page turner." Alex said sarcastically. "Ugh, I don't remember the author's name. Where's a librarian when you need-"

Alex crashed into something right as she turned down another aisle.

"Ow!" Alex groaned on the ground, rubbing her head as papers gently fell around her.

"Oh my gosh! Are you alright, Alex?" Harper asked, helping her up.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Alex mumbled.

"I am so sorry," a girl opposite from Alex said as she frantically got up and picked up her scattered books and papers, "I wasn't looking where I was going."

"No, it's fine, really." Alex said brushing her shirt off, "Here, let me help." Alex bent down and picked up some papers.

"Oh, no it's fine." The girl bent back down at the same exact time Alex stood up, inevitably ending in another collision as the back of Alex's head forcefully met the girl's forehead with a THUD!

"Ow, again. Oh my god, I'm sorry." Alex apologized.

"No, it's okay. You just hit my face." The girl said, rubbing her forehead. She had long brown, wavy hair tied back in a messy ponytail. She was wearing a simple, loose white v-neck with skinny jeans and converse. There was a nametag pinned to her shirt that read "Mitchie".

"I guess we're even now."

Alex caught herself staring with her mouth slightly ajar, but quickly shook herself back to her usual cool self. "W-what?"

"I hurt you, you hurt me… we're a happy family… wow, that was lame…" the girl cringed and Alex laughed at her Barney reference.

Alex's cell phone buzzed in her pocket. "Oh, hang on, sorry." She answered the phone, "Hello? What? No, I'm-… I'm at the bookstore right now…"

The girl awkwardly shuffled all of her books as Alex kept talking.

"What kind of emergency?… levitated?… stuck to the ceiling?…"

The girl looked at Alex at her strange conversation.

"Okay. Whatever. Bye." Alex snapped her phone shut. "Sorry, I have a bit of an emergency at home uhh… oh, Mitchie." Alex looked back at her nametag. "I hope your face is okay." Alex said as she started backing away, stumbling over a table and Harper. "Ow. Whoa, Harper, where'd you come from?"

"I've been here the whole time."

Mitchie laughed to herself as she watched the girl's awkward exit.

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"So, what'cha thinking about?" Harper asked as they drove from Alex's family's sub station. They had just spent the past two hours trying to un-stick Max from the ceiling and now were own their way to see a movie.

"What? What makes you think I'm thinking things? I'm not thinking things." Alex snapped out of her daze.

"Well, for one thing, you're driving like thirty miles under the speed limit, and you've been driving in silence for ten minutes with your thinking face on." Harper proceeded to mimic her expression by furrowing her brows, squinting her eyes, and sticking the tip of her tongue out of the side of her mouth.

"Psh, I don't make that face." They continued driving for a while in comfortable silence.

"You're doing it again!" Harper pointed an accusing finger at Alex's face. "What are you thinking?"

Alex sighed, "I don't know… I don't really feel like seeing a movie."

The truth was, Alex couldn't stop thinking about a certain brunette. 'Why was I such a loser? Alex Russo does not loose her cool. I've never been so aware of how I come off to a person…' Alex thought.

"Okay, well what do you want to do?" Harper asked.

"Uhh… I feel like going somewhere quiet… how about we go back to the bookstore and just… read?" Alex cringed thinking Harper would see through her plan to see Mitchie.

"Yeah, maybe you can talk to that one girl." Harper said

"What?!" Alex asked worriedly.

"You know, the worker you ran over. Maybe she can help you find that book for Justin." Harper replied.

"Oh, yeah. Right." Alex breathed out in relief.

"Why do you feel like reading all of a sudden? I don't think I've ever seen you read on your own accord." Harper asked.

"Uhh… you know." Alex mumbled.

"Oh, I know! You're just jealous of what me and Justin have! Yeah, you want to seem all smart because Justin's love for me is a threat to our friendship." Harper smiled knowingly. (Or so she thought)

"Psh, yeah right. I mean… Yeah! Right! You got me." Alex replied smoothly.

"Aww, you don't have to worry. But I do need to find a book on how to sew with rubber. I'm creating a new ensemble for my wardrobe." Harper said proudly.


	2. What?

**A/N: The single quote dialogues are the characters' thoughts.**

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As Alex and Harper entered the bookstore, the smell of coffee and published paper washed over them. There were many people in this thriving business, yet it wasn't crowded. It was a large store complete with a small coffee shop. The aisles of books went on and on as Alex sized up the place. Some comfortable couches were placed here and there for readers. Even though Alex could feel her heart racing with anxiety, the calm atmosphere still gave her some sense of serenity.

"I'm going to go look for a book." Harper said, darting into the "crafts" section.

Alex nodded absentmindedly. She looked around the store expectantly but didn't see her girl. She walked past every aisle twice, passing Harper a couple of times. She assured Harper she was just looking for a book, to which Harper replied,

"Why don't you ask that one chick to help you?"

Alex would even do sort of a double take while looking into aisles on the off chance that Mitchie was walking a few steps behind her on the opposite side.

She eventually gave up her search and plopped onto a comfy chair in the "nature" section.

Puzzled

'I don't even know her'

For some reason she was very discouraged.

'She probably got off work when I was at the sub station'

Alex sighed, lifting herself up when something caught her attention. _The Wonderful World of Wombats _was on a shelf right in front of her. She bent down to grab it. 'Might as well get this while I'm here-'

"Hey," a quiet voice came from right behind Alex.

"Ahh!" Alex jerked back upright, throwing the book a couple of aisles over in the process.

"Whoa… you're gonna have to pay for that." Mitchie timidly smiled at her.

"What?" Alex brushed the hair from her face, shocked to see her.

"Just kidding. Are you finding everything alright?" Mitchie asked.

"Where have you been?" Alex squinted her eyes in question.

"I was in the employee backroom… Wait what?.."

"Nothing! Yeah, I was just looking for a book." Alex smiled. 'Nice save'

"I kinda figured." Mitchie waved a hand around them, "We're in a bookstore."

"Um yeah, right. Psh, I know." Alex leaned back, trying to look cool, but knocked over some books. "Sorry." Alex picked them up, "I was looking for _The Wonderful World of Wombats_."

"Oh. Well," Mitchie took a copy off the shelf, "that's weird." Alex looked at her. "Well, no. You're not weird! The book's weird. Not that I've read it or anything! I mean not that wombats aren't cool. Just a weird choice… but a… good one? .. Yeah, I'm gonna stop talking now." Mitchie blushed as Alex laughed and took the book from her.

"Alex!" Harper appeared out of nowhere. 'Shoot, I forgot about Harper'. "There you are. Hey! You're the girl Alex ran over! I'm Harper. I always tell her she should be more aware of her surroundings." Harper rambled while enthusiastically shaking Mitchie's hand.

"Hey, why don't you take my truck and head home. I'll pick it up later." Alex tossed Harper the keys to her truck, saving Mitchie from a sprained shoulder.

"What? Really?! You never let _anyone_ drive your baby. Wait, why? How are you getting home?" Harper questioned.

"I need to do some… studying. I'll just catch a cab." Alex replied easily.

"Oh, okay." Harper looked back at Mitchie. "Ohhhh! Okay." Harper said, "understanding" the situation. "Gotch'ya!" she winked obviously at Alex and leaned over to Mitchie, bringing her voice down. "She has really soft lips." She whispered.

"Harper!" Alex scolded her friend.

"Just saying! Have fun you two." Harper said leaving a wide-eyed Mitchie.

"Okay… awkward. I don't know that girl." Alex smirked.

"I don't even know you and I know that's a lie." Mitchie smiled as she brushed past Alex.

Alex stood in the same spot for a second before chasing after Mitchie.

"I'm Alex. Alex Russo." She said, following Mitchie through the store. "Who are you?"

"You know my name."

"Mitchie, yeah, but I don't _know_ you."

Mitchie picked up a box and headed into an aisle.

"So do you just stock the books here?"

"No, I'm a cashier too." She began taking books out of the box and placing them on certain shelves.

"What school do you go to?"

"I just moved here, but I'm starting my junior year at Waverly High when school starts."

"Me too!" Alex smiled joyously " Well, except for the just moving here part."

Mitchie grabbed the box and put it under a table. "So, when did you move here?"

"Are we playing twenty questions or something? A few weeks ago."

"And you already have a job?"

"I like to keep busy." Mitchie walked through aisles, straightening things that didn't need to be straightened with Alex close behind.

"Do you have any friends yet?"

"I've met some people." Mitchie kept walking.

"Do you have anyone on your love radar?"

"Huh?"

"Do you have a boyfriend?" Alex clarified.

"You sure ask a lot of questions."

"I'm curious."

"You're persistent."

"_You're_ avoiding the question." Alex stepped right in front of Mitchie, staring at her expectantly. Mitchie hesitated, noticing her scared reflection staring back at her in Alex's eyes.

"Not anymore." Mitchie replied quietly before abruptly turning away.

"You're not avoiding the _question_ anymore, or you don't have a _boyfriend_ anymore?" Alex pursued her again.

"You know, I don't even know you." Mitchie stopped and turned only to find Alex just inches away.

"My name is Alex Russo. My family owns the Waverly Sub Station. I have two brothers." Alex was inching even closer, her voice very low. "I don't like school, but I like education. I'm not a people person, but I like people. Most of the time… I act on impulse."

Mitchie had a hard time maintaining eye contact with the slightly taller girl as she was backed into a table.

"All I know about you is that your name is Mitchie, and me being this close to you is making you very nervous." Alex smirked.

Mitchie cleared her throat and looked into Alex's eyes confidently. "What makes you think I'm nervous of you?"

Alex brought her face closer, brushing her nose against Mitchie's. Mitchie's breath caught in her throat.

"Who are you?" Alex whispered.

Mitchie felt Alex's warm breath on her lips and swallowed hard. "I'm… uh… Torres." Mitchie closed her eyes, absolutely intoxicated by the girl's charm.

"Really? Cause your nametag says your name is Mitchie."

Mitchie felt a gust of cool air and opened her eyes.

Alex was walking away from her towards the exit.

She was left standing there,

alone and flustered.

'What?'

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I hope that wasn't too confusing _ 


	3. Hunger pains

A/N: Wow, you guys that reviewed are really sweet. I wasn't going to post until later this week, but you guys fueled my creativity :D.

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Mitchie threw her keys onto the coffee table in the cozy loft, letting out a deep sigh. Her body ached from the long day's work. She went straight to her room as quietly as possible as to not wake her mother.

It didn't work. Moms just have that weird sixth sense of knowing things like when their child comes home at 11:00pm.

"Mitchie?"

She cringed at the sound of her mother's worn voice.

"Yeah, mom?" She turned around to face her mother's tired form peering into the hall.

"Honey, are you just now getting in from work?" Her mother walked up to her and pressed a caring hand to her cheek.

"Yeah, mom. But I was closing tonight. It's not that bad."

"I'm just worried about you, sweetie. You're working too hard. You're barely ever home. We're doing fine, you don't need to worry so much about money. Be a teenager. Find a boy." Her mother smiled sleepily.

Mitchie smiled back, "Got to bed, mom. I'm fine. You should relax."

"You should take your own advice." She turned away back into her room.

Mitchie walked into her room and collapsed on her bed. She kicked off her sneakers and snuggled into her soft covers, not bothering to change into something more comfortable.

She buried her head into her pillow as she thought about everything she finally had time to think about.

This was a usual ritual. Well known and rehearsed.

She thought about the future and the past. She thought of how she didn't actually work long hours for the money.

She thought of how much she missed her father. She thought of how much she missed her mom's smile.

She thought of how after her father passed away, moving to New York, as settled as she was, was the easiest decision she's ever made.

She thought of the approximate number of hours she and her mom have spent with each other since they moved. That number wasn't very significant.

She thought of how many hours they have each worked. That number was pretty substantial.

She thought of how she literally hadn't eaten in two days.

'I think I had a couple of grapes'

This was a usual ritual. Well known and rehearsed.

Only tonight, there was something she could reflect on that stirred a different genre of emotion.

Something between confusion and curiosity.

'Who was she?'

'Alex. Alex Russo'

'I don't even know what happened'

'She got in my personal space'

'But I didn't move'

'She moved'

'She left so suddenly'

Mitchie was pulled into slumber unwillingly.

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Mitchie walked down a small street of shops reading a small piece of paper.

'Okay. So, two pastramis on wheat, one with mayo, the other without. Two New Yorker combo meals. One turkey on white with pepper jack. One To The Max, all the way.'

She looked up at the shop signs until she found the one she was told to go to. 'Waverly Sub Station'

Mitchie walked up to the register and waited for someone to take her order. The place was very nice. The furniture and vibe was very modern and trendy.

'So, two pastramis, two New Yorkers, one turkey-'

"Just couldn't stay away from me, could you?" Mitchie's thoughts were interrupted by a familiar voice. She looked up to see Alex smirking at her from behind the register.

"You work here?" Mitchie asked, shocked.

"Yeah… don't you remember me telling you that yesterday?"

"Was that before or after you came on to me?" Mitchie looked at Alex challengingly.

"Before." Alex flashed her a brilliant smile. "So, did you just come here to flirt, or do you want to order something?"

"I am _not_ flirting!" Mitchie huffed before giving Alex the paper with her order.

"Psh, whatever." Alex read the paper. "Hungry?" Alex arched an eyebrow in question.

"I'm making the lunch run for work."

"Are you always working?" Alex went to the back area to make the sandwiches. Mitchie looked around the store at nothing in particular, just trying to distract herself from Alex.

That didn't last very long.

Mitchie could see Alex clearly through a large window to the kitchen.

Alex was wearing an apron over her trademark punk-rocker chick clothes. She quickly clipped her hair back, her bangs and pieces of her dark locks hung around her face.

The same flour that was spilled on her apron was slightly smeared across her cheek and nose.

As Alex quickly threw the sandwiches together Mitchie couldn't help but notice how well Alex pulled off the unkempt look.

'She doesn't even have to try to look good'

Mitchie's gaze traveled to her mouth as Alex moistened her lips with her tongue.

Alex looked up while finishing one of the sandwiches and saw Mitchie staring at her hungrily. She flashed her a smile and winked. Mitchie quickly turned away as she blushed, taking in a deep breath. 'Get a grip, Mitchie!'

Mitchie turned back around and saw Alex was back at the register with all of the sandwiches ready to go.

"Whoa, you're fast."

"Actually, you kind of spaced out there for a second. But yeah. That's just how I do." Alex popped an imaginary collar, earning her a smile from Mitchie.

"You've got some flour-" Mitchie pointed to her own face, mirroring Alex's.

Alex worriedly wiped the wrong side of her face, leaving a new streak of flour across her flawless skin.

"No, it's more like-" Mitchie giggled, pointing again.

Alex once again wiped the wrong place.

"Ugh, come here." Both leaned over the counter as Mitchie pulled on her sleeve to clean Alex. She gently steadied Alex's head with her fingers as she brushed away the flour.

Alex closed her eyes, Mitchie's fingers searing her skin. "How did you get flour under your ear?"

'That feels so good.'

"All done." Mitchie pulled back but Alex stayed in the same place. "Earth to Alex?"

"What?" Alex stayed unmoving.

"You can open your eyes now." Mitchie said amused.

"Oh…" Alex straightened back up. "Thanks… I was just… meditating…"

'Yeah, that's what I was doing. Good.'

Mitchie nodded, "Oh yeah, I love to meditate randomly and unannounced." She joked.

"Yeah? It's new. Sweeping the nation… Anyways." Alex awkwardly shoved the sandwiches towards Mitchie. "That'll be $16.78."

Mitchie laid a twenty on the counter and took the sandwiches.

"You're so… different."

Mitchie turned and walked towards the exit. "I'll see you around." She said, opening the door to leave.

"You know where to find me." Alex watched her leave with a dreamy look in her eyes.

"What was that about?"

"Ohmygosh!" Alex quickly spun around, slipping on the flour covered floor.

Her brother Justin was staring at her, holding a tray of bread. "What?"

"I've never seen Alex Russo lose her cool." Justin smiled cockily.

"I didn't lose my cool."

"Oh, right. '_I was just meditating_'." Justin mocked her.

"I'm done with my shift." Alex tossed her apron at Justin, and jogged up the stairs to their family's apartment.


	4. You're Insufferable!

**A/N: Thanks for all the nice reviews :]. You guys make me laugh. (Especially that McDonald's comment ;D)**

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'I just need to clear my mind.' Alex laid on the couch in the living room and flipped the TV on.

She watched a special on William Shakespeare, trying to distract herself. It worked for about twenty minutes.

'Much Ado About Nothing? I should read that. It sounds interesting. But I don't know if reading the iambic pentameter rhyme scheme willOH MY GOSH, I'M TURNING INTO JUSTIN'

Alex quickly turned off the educational show and ran to her room.

'Why do I feel so anxious?'

Alex sat down at her desk chair and picked up her acoustic guitar.

She started tuning it.

'Maybe I _should_ try meditating'

Suddenly one of the strings snapped.

"Shoot!" Alex bit her lip as she looked at the string and tried to remember if she had a spare.

'I guess I could go pick a pack up from Jimmy's"

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A bell rang over Alex's head as she entered the local music store.

"Hey! Alex Russo! What brings you here?" A scruffy guy in his twenties looked up from the counter where he was fixing a saxophone. He had messy, curly locks and a five o'clock shadow. His vintage clothes suited his indie personality and friendly face.

"I just need some strings. Where's your uncle?" Alex asked walking over to the guitar section and picking out a pack.

"He's giving a guitar lesson in the back. You should say hi to him before you go." The guy smiled kindly at Alex.

"Alright. Thanks, Aaron." Alex laid down a five and walked to the back of the store. She walked through a door leading to a hall lined with many other doors. Each door had a small window Alex looked through one by one until she found the right one.

A greasy man that looked more like a cab driver rather than a music instructor was showing an annoyed little boy how to play a chord on his guitar.

Alex knocked on the window and he looked up, giving Alex a wave as he smiled.

Alex waved back and was about to leave when she heard the muffled sound of someone singing over a piano.

_I've always been the kind of girl_

_That hid my face_

Alex looked through a couple of windows, only finding more impatient teachers and kids.

_This is real, this is me_

_I'm exactly where I'm supposed to be_

'No. Way'

Alex's jaw dropped when she found the right room.

A girl was playing a large grand piano alone, with her back to the door.

'Mitchie? Is that her singing?'

_"Now I found, who I am_

_There's no way to hold it in"_

Alex gently opened the door and entered the room as quietly as possible.

_"You're the voice I hear inside my head_

_The reason that I'm singing"_

Alex was in awe of Mitchie. 'Her voice is so pure and full of emotion'. Alex felt a strong urge to hold the girl in a protective embrace.

_"You're the missing piece I need,_

_The song inside of me_

_I need to find-"_

Mitchie's voice wavered off as her features contorted in pain, but she kept playing, telling the rest of the song's story with her fingers.

Alex edged closer to her.

Mitchie's eyes were closed, but a lone tear managed to escape and land incriminatingly on a key.

She suddenly stopped playing, placing her head in her hands.

Alex quickly found herself wanting to be anywhere but there, yet couldn't force her legs to move.

She softly placed a hand on the girl's shoulder.

"Jesus!" Mitchie jumped in fright. "What are you doing here?" She snapped.

Alex quickly retracted her hand. "Sorry-"

"Don't you know how to knock?"

"Did you write that?"

"You really shouldn't sneak up on people!"

"You're fantastic."

"Are you even listening to me?"

"That was really beautiful."

"You're insufferable!" Mitchie threw her hands up in exasperation.

Alex kept staring at Mitchie with the same innocent curiosity.

Mitchie tried to stare her down. "I wrote most of it." She replied quietly.

"You're amazing. Ever thought of performing?" Alex sat on the piano bench next to Mitchie.

"…no." Mitchie looked down at the keys.

"Well, you should. I didn't know you liked music."

"Cause you don't know me."

"And whose fault is that?"

Mitchie's cold façade melted away when she looked at Alex.

Mitchie breathed out and shook her head, smiling.

"You keep appearing in my life."

"I could say the same thing." Alex pressed down on some of the piano's keys. "So they let you out of the bookstore?"

"Yeah, I just got off work." Mitchie cringed at the off chords Alex was playing. "What are you doing here?"

Alex lifted the hand that was holding her guitar strings. "I broke my G string…" Alex mentally slapped herself. "I mean… the G guitar string.. the note… on my guitar."

Mitchie giggled as she placed a hand on the one Alex was using to play the piano. "Maybe you should stick with the guitar." She smiled.

Alex stopped playing. "Do you come here often?"

"Whenever I can. They're really nice here, and just let me come in and play. I don't have a piano at home."

Alex's face lit up. "I have a keyboard. You should come over so we can jam!"

"I don't know."

"Oh, come on. You could give me a much needed piano lesson, and I'll give you a free meal."

"Uh…"

"Alright, let's go!"

Alex dragged Mitchie out of the room.

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Alex was lying on her bed, staring at the ceiling and strumming her guitar. Mitchie was sitting in front of her keyboard, shyly pressing down on the keys.

Alex's room was pretty large. Its color scheme was unidentifiable and modern; with it's brightly colored furniture and multicolored walls. It was exactly what Mitchie imagined it would be.

A laptop sat helplessly surrounded by CD cases on a desk in the corner, while the rest of the room was littered with miscellaneous instruments like a full drum set and various guitars.

"You sure have a lot of instruments."

"I like music. Give me something to work with." Alex asked, listening to Mitchie.

Mitchie continued to play quietly and timidly.

"Come on, I know you can do more than that."

"I don't know what to play…"

"If you don't wanna share your musical genius with me on the piano, come here." Alex sat up and moved up to the headboard of her bed.

"Why?" Mitchie looked worried.

"I'm going to teach you how to play the guitar. Now get your cute butt over here."

Mitchie reluctantly got up and walked to the bed. Alex pat a spot next to her, but Mitchie sat as far away as possible on the edge.

Alex laughed and handed her the guitar.

"Are you afraid of me or something?" Alex said to the back of Mitchie's head.

"What would I be afraid of?"

"Afraid I might make a move on you because we're on a bed?"

"You tell me." Mitchie's face was beet red as she looked down at the guitar in her lap.

"Well, I'm very comfortable over here, and I can't very well teach you anything with you so far away. So either you come over here, or I'll just have to do something one of us might regret." Alex stated, on the other side of the bed.

"Uh, I-I'm fine." Mitchie stammered.

Alex sighed. "Fine."

Mitchie strummed the guitar, relieved Alex gave up when she felt the girl slide over and press her body against her back. She sat with her legs on either side of Mitchie's, pretty much spooning her.

"Hey there." Alex rested her chin on Mitchie's shoulder, feeling the girl's body stiffen a little. "Okay, so first thing's first. You need to know how to hold the guitar cause no self-respecting rocker has posture this good." Alex said into Mitchie's ear. "Relax a little bit." Her voice sent electricity down Mitchie's spine.

Mitchie slumped her shoulders slightly.

"Good." Alex laughed. "Now, try this chord." Alex slid her hand slowly down Mitchie's left arm and moved her fingers. "That's an F chord. Strum it." She breathed into Mitchie's ear.

Mitchie closed her eyes, trying to focus on breathing.

"Mitchie?" Alex slid her hands up Mitchie's back, up to her shoulders and started to deliciously massage her. "Are you okay?"

'Ohmygosh. Breathe. Breathe'

"That feels so good."

"What?"

'Did I say that out loud?!' "Nothing! I uh-" Mitchie quickly stood up and placed the guitar on the bed. "Are you hungry? Boy, I'm hungry. We should go get something to eat right now. I mean, you did promise me that free meal, am I right? Let's go get something!" Mitchie said incredibly fast and in an unnecessarily loud voice as she practically ran out of the room.

Alex smiled to herself as she slowly followed in Mitchie's path.

' I am _good _'

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**A/N: Just to avoid confusion, the song Mitchie was singing was the ****acoustic**** version of This Is Me.**


	5. Friendly MeetingClassic Date

A/N: I'm sorry it's been so long since I've updated. I was stuck in this cycle. I've been writing the same chapter over again for two weeks. It just never flowed the way I wanted.

Like, the first chapters just felt really natural when I wrote them. That's basically what I'm going for in my writing. This chapter is shorter than I intended, but I just wanted to post all that I could as soon as possible. Forgive my grammatical errors if there are any. I'll fix them later, blah. ­­ _

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"Geez, you're quick." Alex found Mitchie sitting wide-eyed at the counter of the Sub Station, biting her nails.

"Alex! You didn't tell me you had a friend over. Here's your tea, sweetie." Alex's mother happily exclaimed as she placed an iced tea in front of Mitchie.

"Yeah, uh, this is Mitchie. Mitchie, this is my mom." Alex awkwardly introduced them.

Mitchie laughed nervously and shook her mother's hand. "Thank you for the drink."

"Well, I'm about to close up the shop and start dinner upstairs. How does pork chops sound?" She smiled widely.

Alex just stared at her mom with a warning expression.

"Alright, well. Don't let me get in the way." She walked away, only to appear right next to Mitchie seconds later. "Oh! It's so nice to see Alex making more friends!" She gave Mitchie a big hug.

"Mom!"

"Alright, alright." She said, leaving the girls.

Mitchie still sat there, looking shocked, "Boy, you Russo's sure are friendly."

Mitchie took the straw out of her tea and downed the whole thing at once.

"Are you alright?" Alex watched Mitchie catch her breath.

"What? Yeah. Why?"

"You seem… Distressed." Alex sat down next to her.

"I'm just… hungry…" Mitchie grabbed a menu off the counter and started to intensely read it upside down.

"You sure?" Alex turned her menu right side up for her.

Mitchie put the menu down.

"You know what we should do? We should start our own band." Alex said sitting down next to Mitchie as the girl looked at her with an unsure expression. "Don't you want people to know how talented you are?"

"Not really."

"Sure you do!"

"I don't do well in front of crowds."

"Minor setback."

"I get nauseous just thinking about it."

"Come on! You've got to- wait, what? You're not going to be sick, are you?" Alex looked worried.

"No, I'm fine."

"Oh good." Alex said relieved. "Come on! You've got to live life to its fullest." There was a visible sparkle in Alex's eyes. "Live life with no regrets! That's my motto."

Mitchie bit her lip in thought.

"Take chances."

Mitchie looked up like she suddenly realized something. "I have to go home."

"Oh…"

"But, we should hang out tomorrow. Catch a movie or something. I work until noon."

"That sounds good." Alex's smile brightened. "I could pick you up from work."

"Alright." Mitchie stood up and smoothed her shirt. She bit her lip in thought again then quickly threw her arms around Alex in a surprising and quick hug. "Bye." Mitchie hastily left the shop, red in the face.

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"Hawthorne, Hawthorne…" Mitchie skimmed through the 'H' authors on a bookshelf. "Aha! Found you-"

"BOO!"

"AHH!" Alex jumped out at Mitchie from behind the shelves.

"Hey." Alex laughed.

"Hey." Mitchie breathed out. "What are you doing?"

"Just picking you up for our fun-filled day of adventure… and scaring you."

"Yeah, well you succeeded in the latter. Let me just clock out." Mitchie picked up a box and headed towards the back of the store.

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"So, where to?" Alex asked buckling her seatbelt.

"I don't know, you want to go get some lunch?"

"Sounds good. There's a café near the theater is you still want to see a movie."

"Yeah, what movie should we see? I don't even know what's out right now."

"Let's just… pick the first movie that's showing when we get there."

Mitchie laughed. "You're so spontaneous."

"That's what I'm going for." Alex replied as they drove off.

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"Favorite color?"

"Yellow." Mitchie smirked, taking a sip of her drink. "Favorite movie?"

"Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind."

Mitchie nodded in approval.

"Favorite food?"

"Pickles." Mitchie smiled goofily.

"No way! Me too!" Alex exclaimed in disbelief.

"Favorite band?" Mitchie giggled.

"Uhh…"

"Hey! No thinking about it. This is still the "say the first thing that pops into your head"- question game!" Mitchie reminded her.

"Okay, okay. Currently, Elliot Smith. What about you?"

"The Beatles."

"You guys ready to order?" A clean-cut waiter in his twenties appeared next to their booth.

"Yeah, go ahead Mitchie."

"I'll have the turkey panini." Mitchie told him.

"Alright. And what about you, sugar?" The waiter turned to Alex.

Mitchie narrowed her eyes as she watched the waiter flirt.

"I'll just have a cheeseburger with an extra pickle." Alex told him.

"Mmm, I like a girl that can eat a burger!" The waiter gave her a cheesy smile. "Your order will be right out." He said winking at Alex.

"He's pretty cute." Alex said.

"Yeah, I guess. If you like that whole… charming and handsome thing…" Mitchie grumbled.

"So, do you have any siblings?" Alex changed the subject, smiling to herself.

"Nope. I'm an only child."

"Lucky."

"_You're_ the lucky one. I'd love to have a brother or sister. That way maybe my mom wouldn't pay so much attention to me sometimes." Mitchie stirred her tea.

"Where did you guys move from?"

"Texas."

"Really? You don't seem like a Texan."

"What did you expect?"

"I don't know… you don't have an accent, cowboy hat, or horse… do you?"

Mitchie laughed, "No, I can't say I do."

"So, ladies," The waiter appeared out of nowhere again. "You girls go to the University?" He placed a hand on Alex's back.

Mitchie clenched her jaw in annoyance as she watched.

"Um, try high school." Alex said, noticing the piercing stare Mitchie was shooting at the guy.

"High school? You look _way_ too mature for that. What are you, a senior?" He kneeled down, getting closer.

"No, we're not even juniors yet."

"No problemOW!" He straightened up, stumbling backwards a little. "I'll go check on your order." He said, glaring at Mitchie.

"Did you just kick him?" Alex questioned Mitchie with a smile.

"Yeah, clumsy me. Anyways…" Mitchie took a drink of her tea. "I have another question for you. You still have to say the first thing that comes to mind."

"Shoot."

"What made you want to talk to me?"

"I don't know, you came into my life with a bang. Literally." Alex referred to their collision. "I'm usually never clumsy. It's weird. You bring out the dork in me."

"Gee, I'm glad I have that affect on you." Mitchie played with the peppershaker on the table. "By the way, I _am_ that clumsy, usually."

"Psh, that's not hard to believe."

Mitchie threw her napkin at Alex playfully.

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**A/N: There's more to come very soon. :D *thumbs up***

***cyber-hugs everyone that reviewed***


	6. Not So Classic Date

**A/N: I'm soooooo sorry for not updating sooner, and lying about how I would update sooner! I *insert lame excuse here* . And that's why I haven't updated.**

**…**

**Okay, so the truth is, I've been lazy this past week. However, yesterday I had a breakthrough in writing this story. The good news is, I was WAY into writing it and am SO excited to post it. The bad news is… it's like chapter 8. So I had a hard time writing this chapter, but the story WILL get better. Hopefully… Or at least in my opinion it will. But I'm working on about three hours of sleep and a blended espresso made hot with three shots of vanilla. Mmm…**

**So I truly apologize if there are any mistakes grammaticallyAND OMG THIS COFFEE FUELED AUTHOR'S NOTE IS LONG. I just HAD to post this… WOOOOH!!!COFFEE!!!**

**Oh, and more non-creepy cyber-hugs for all of you that reviewed ( especially for ZuZuLG!)**

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"I hate trying to find a seat in theaters." Mitchie whispered to Alex as they slowly walked up the stairs, scanning the aisles for some good seats. The theater was pretty packed. The previews started and the lights dimmed slightly. "I feel like everyone's watching me."

Mitchie lost her footing on a step, stumbling a little, but Alex caught her arm.

"They are."

"Shut up. Why is it so dark in here?"

"Oh! There are some good seats." Alex pointed to a couple of seats in the center of a row.

"We have to shuffle past like a million people!" Mitchie looked worriedly.

"You mean like… five? It's fine, go." Alex let Mitchie lead.

She awkwardly shimmied past people, whispering small apologies.

"Sorry. Excuse me. Sorry. Sorry. Oh!" Mitchie tripped over a man's leg and ungracefully face planted on the ground.

"Oh my gosh. Are you alright, Mitchie?" Alex whispered.

Mitchie shot back up, brushing herself off. "I'm fine, yeah. I'm good." She laughed embarrassedly. "This floor is… unleveled."

They sat down and focused their attention to the screen.

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"What did you think of the movie? I thought it was pretty good." Alex said as they exited the theater.

"I don't know. There's something about Nicholas Cage that kind of freaks me out."

"Yeah…" They both stared into space for a second. "So it's only three. Where do you want to spend the rest of our adventure?"

"Let's just drive and see what happens." Mitchie smiled at Alex.

"Really?"

"Yeah! Like you said, we've got to live our lives. Maybe adventure will find us."

"So we're just going to drive until we hit Canada or something?"

Mitchie looked giddy. "That's how adventures get started!" Her smile fell slightly. "Isn't it?"

"Sure, come on." Alex said as she started to run through the parking lot. "Last one to my truck has to sing me a song!" Alex yelled back.

"What?!" Mitchie started to run, almost getting run over by a car. "Sorry!" she yelled, stumbling slightly.

Mitchie finally made it to the truck, seeing Alex was comfortably lying on top of it.

"What took you so long?"

"You cheated." Mitchie huffed.

"I had a head start." Alex hopped down to Mitchie.

"Which is cheating if you don't have the consent of the opponent!" Mitchie protested.

"Psh, sore loser." Alex teased, getting into the truck.

"Plus, I never agreed to the race, so I don't have to suffer the consequences." Mitchie sat down in the passenger seat and buckled herself in.

"I thought you wanted to live your life."

"Yeah, well. I'm new to this spontaneity. Baby steps."

Alex pulled out of the parking lot and zipped through the traffic with ease.

"See anything worth our valuable adventure time?"

"We could take a karate class." Mitchie joked as they passed by a dojo. Alex quickly made a frighteningly sharp U-turn.

"I was just joking." Mitchie grabbed the door for stability.

"It'll be fun. I'm sure they can fit us into a beginners class."

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"I'm sorry, the next class starting is the advanced course. You're welcome to sit in and watch. You can even join in if you like. Our instructor loves to have potential students to really get an understanding of the classes we have available here." A pleasant lady in her forties told them from behind a desk.

"Uh." Mitchie looked unsure.

"Sounds great! We'd love to join." Alex answered for them.

"Alright, here are some clothes. You can change in that restroom over there and the next class will begin in about five minutes."

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A small bald man walked into the classroom. "Alright class, today we're going to work on defense from rear attacks."

Alex snorted and Mitchie slapped her arm. "You're so immature."

"Pair up, everyone!"

The class of about thirty students scrambled and Mitchie moved closer to Alex, claiming her.

"You and your partner will choose to either be the offensive person or the defensive person!" The instructor yelled.

"I'll be the defensive first." Alex excitedly said.

"Now, offensive peopled need to stand behind your partner!"

Mitchie moved behind Alex.

"Alright, now your left arm wraps under your partner's left arm, while the right wraps over their right shoulder."

Mitchie awkwardly placed her arms around Alex.

"You've got to try harder than that. I could get out of this in a heartbeat." Alex laughed.

Mitchie gripped tighter, pressing their bodies together. "Is this better?" She whispered into her ear.

"Yeah…"

"Now, defensive people are going to do this!" This instructor moved in a complicated maneuver with his partner, slipping out of the hold.

Alex easily copied the move and smiled cockily at Mitchie. "Hah!"

"Switch sides now!"

Mitchie stood, waiting for Alex to grab her from behind. "If you don't mind, I'm going to try something different."

"Sure, if that move is too complicated for you." Alex teased.

"Whatever." As soon as Mitchie felt Alex grab her she quickly flipped her over, causing Alex to land on the mats with a thud. "Oh my gosh, are you okay? I didn't mean to throw you that hard." Mitchie kneeled down to look at Alex.

"Yeah, I'm good. These hard mats broke my fall." Mitchie helped Alex up.

"That was very good, you two!" The instructor said to the girls. "That leads us to our next move! Throwing!"

"Oh, great." Alex said with mock enthusiasm.

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"I'm so sore." Alex groaned as she climbed into her truck.

"Me too."

"Yeah, I understand. Throwing me like a rag doll about a million times must have strained some muscles.

"Nah, you're light." Mitchie giggled as Alex stuck her tongue out at her. "You said you were fine. You even told me I wasn't throwing you that hard."

"Ugh."

"Crybaby."

"Where did you even learn to do that stuff anyways? You were ten times better than any of the people in that class."

"I might have taken karate lessons before… for five years. You're not the only one full of surprises."

"Ugh." Alex drove out onto the main road. "Where to now?"

"Do you want to just hang out at my place? You can rest your battered body."

"Ha Ha, where do you live?"

"It's pretty close. Take a left up here."

They sat in comfortable silence as Alex drove with the muffled sounds of the road and quiet noise of the radio.

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**A/N: Chapter 7 will be up before the weekend or my name isn't youreyesarelove! (hahah, it's really not, so you'll never know when I'll update! Can you imagine if that was really someone's name? I'm probably losing all of my readers because I sound really crazy right now…) But seriously, I will, cause I already have the next chapter written. :D**


	7. Let's Ride the Emoticoaster

**A/N: This chapter gets kind of intense o_o.**

**Or… it felt intense when I was writing it.**

**Thanks for the awesome reviews :D.**

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"Home, sweet home." Mitchie and Alex walked into the loft. "It's not much, but it's just me and my mom."

"Are you kidding? This is great. It's so cozy." Alex followed Mitchie to her room.

"If you want to lay down or anything, you're welcome to it. I can get some ice for you." Mitchie joked.

"No thanks, Torres."

Mitchie's room was very plain other than the few band posters that were plastered on the neutral colored walls. There was a very full bookshelf in the corner next to a few unpacked moving boxes filled with CDs. A small desk with a laptop sat against a wall next to a twin bed. The room would have been the neatest Alex had ever seen next to Justin's if it weren't for some books that were scattered across the floor.

Alex accidentally stepped on one and picked it up. "You sure like to read, don't you?" Alex placed it on the desk.

"Yeah, I love it."

"Well." Alex plopped onto Mitchie's bed and placed the guitar she was carrying next to her. "If I recall correctly, you owe me a song."

"I never agreed to that."

"Come oooon. What do you have to be afraid of?"

"I don't know. Singing is like, the most honest thing about a person."

"You can be honest with me." Alex smiled cheekily.

"Oddly enough… I know that." Mitchie said looking into Alex's eyes. "What is it about you that makes me feel like it's okay to be… expressive?"

"Argh, it _is_ okay to be expressive." Alex groaned. "How are you going to be a famous musician if you can't express yourself?"

"I never said I wanted to be famous." Mitchie sat next to Alex on the bed.

"Well, you will be if you let people hear you. You're awesome. It's unfair to keep that talent hidden." Mitchie blushed. "You know how many people would kill for what you have?" Mitchie was silent. "A lot, Mitchie. A lot of people. Are you just unconfident, or have you had some sort of a bad experience with music that has scarred you for life?" Alex joked.

Mitchie looked down with a sullen expression.

"Mitchie?" Alex said, concerned. "I'm sorry. What happened?"

"It's a long story." Mitchie shook her head. Alex gave her an I've-got-time look.

Mitchie sighed. "I lied to you."

"What?"

"You asked me before if I've ever considered performing. I said no. It's actually always been sort of a dream of mine." Alex was silent, afraid to interrupt. "This is stupid, you don't want to hear this."

"No, please. Go on."

"Alright, well I even went to a camp for aspiring musicians called Camp Rock. I thought it was going to be amazing, but it was too much drama. It wasn't even about the music there. Anyways, I met a guy there. You might know him. Shane Gray."

Alex's jaw dropped.

"Yeah, well. He was pretty much the only person that was nice to me. All those kids had money or were related to fame. I was just nothing. My family could barely afford the camp. My mom had to cater the place so I could stay. But Shane was really sweet and I fell for him like every other girl. However, things took a turn for the worst near the end of camp. During the Final Jam, that's our finale performance, Shane pulled some strings to get me a solo feature performance. When I really started getting into my singing on stage, I felt something pour onto my head. Shane and his groupies rigged a bucket of paint to spill on me during my song." Alex looked horrified.

"It turns out they had been planning the whole thing from the get go. Shane never liked me. I couldn't believe it. I really thought he cared about me. It was just a stupid prank, but it hit me hard. So, my mom packed our things up and we left without another word to those kids."

Alex was about to speak, but Mitchie continued. "When me and my mom got home, we found my dad passed out on the kitchen table. It was okay, he did that occasionally after having a few too many while watching a football game. It wasn't until we found the pill bottle in his hand that we found out he was dead." Alex covered her mouth in shock. "He was the one that taught me how to play the piano. I loved to sing and play with him when I was little." Mitchie smiled sadly, her eyes clouded over with the memories. "We used to give little concerts for my mom. I just… don't understand why he left us. He was so happy. Always smiling. My mom says I got my smile from him." Alex carefully grasped Mitchie's hand in her own. "I wish I knew why, you know?"

There were no tears in Mitchie's eyes. She didn't feel like crying.

"After he died, I went back to school that summer, and my mom went straight to work. I was okay for a while, but I randomly started getting panic attacks. You know, when like, your chest starts to feel heavy, and no matter how much you try to breathe it's never enough. I threw up every time I tried to play my piano. One day I casually suggested we move away, and my mom jumped at the chance. So here we are. Cowards." There was pain written all over Mitchie's face.

"You're not a coward."

"Yes, I am! I ran away from my problems! My mom works thirteen hours a day, and I'm not much better! I hadn't played the piano for about a year until I moved here. When you heard me singing… that was the first time I have since Camp Rock." Mitchie confessed.

"You're _not _a _coward_!" Alex looked into Mitchie's eyes. "You're human. No one deserves to go through any of that. You had every reason to give up on music, but you haven't. You love it, don't you?" Mitchie nodded. "Then eventually you'll be ready to live it again. Fate played a tough hand. You had your voice takenfrom you. Temporarily." Mitchie looked at Alex curiously. "I'm sorry for prying." She let go of Mitchie's hand.

"No! I willingly spilled my guts." Mitchie smiled sincerely. "I needed that. I've never told anyone about that before. The Russo Charm worked."

Alex smiled goofily. "Let's just… chill."

"We can watch T.V. or something." They both stood up from the bed. Mitchie was about to exit her room when Alex swiftly enveloped her in a warm hug. "You can talk to me about anything anytime." She whispered into Mitchie's ear.

For once, Mitchie forgot her awkwardness for a minute and hugged back, enjoying the moment. Now she felt like crying.

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"We should do that someday." Alex said, popping a grape into her mouth.

"Bust a myth or skydive?" Mitchie also ate a grape.

They were both on the couch in Mitchie's living room, watching Mythbusters, and eating from a bowl of grapes placed between them. Alex was lying down comfortably, using the armrest as a pillow, while Mitchie was sitting cross-legged on the other end of the couch.

"Skydive."

"What? No way. I'm perfectly fine staying on the ground."

"Oh, yeah. You're not very good with gravity." Alex teased.

"I'm not even going to try to challenge that. I know I'm clumsy."

Alex laughed. "When does your mom get off work?"

"Uhh, not for another couple of hours. It's just six." Mitchie said, checking her phone's time. She looked up to see Alex shooting her a harmless glare.

"What?"

"That's the last grape." Alex squinted her eyes in mock anger, referring to the grape in Mitchie's hand.

"You ate almost all of them." Mitchie protested. "Besides, this one looks extra plump. Juicy. Sweet." Mitchie taunted Alex by waving it in front of her. She slowly brought the grape up to her mouth and grasped it with her teeth, trying to get a rise out of Alex… which wasn't very hard.

Alex smirked, getting up from her relaxed position, and crawled towards Mitchie. Mitchie's smile fell, still holding the grape in her teeth. The closer Alex got, the more Mitchie leaned back against the couches armrest, until it was impossible to distance herself without falling onto the floor. Alex steadied herself with her arms on the couch on either side of Mitchie's nervous form.

"Wha are ou oing?" Mitchie asked unintelligibly in a small voice.

Alex was steadily closing the distance between their faces. Mitchie compared her ragged breathing to the calm puffs of hot air Alex breathed onto her as she slowly seized the grape out of Mitchie's mouth with her teeth. Mitchie closed her eyes, and although their lips never brushed Mitchie's lungs were struggling to function properly as she listened to Alex chew on the grape.

Alex swallowed and hesitantly brought her face to the crook of Mitchie's neck, brushing her lips against her soft, heated skin. Mitchie involuntarily arched her back slightly at the contact, surprising them both.

"Mitchie?"

Mitchie's eyes shot open in shock before she accidentally slipped out from under Alex onto the floor.

"Mitchie?" Mitchie's mother opened the door of the loft, calling from behind some grocery bags as she entered. "Is that you, sweetie?" She put the bags on down and looked up at the strange scene.

Her daughter was lying on the ground, halfway under the coffee table, and a scared looking girl she had never seen before was on all fours on the couch next to her.

"Um, hello." She smiled at Alex. "I didn't know you were having a guest over, Mitch."

"I didn't know you were coming home early." Mitchie grumbled, as she picked herself off of the floor. "This is my friend Alex."

"Hello. Nice to meet you." Alex said to her mother as she got up from her awkward position on the couch to shake her hand. She looked at Mitchie standing next to her. "Oh my gosh!"

"What?"

"You're bleeding!"

"What?!" Mitchie brought a hand to her face.

"You must have hit your head on the table." Alex said, the color draining from her face.

"Oh, there are some bandages in the bathroom, Mitchie. It doesn't look bad. Just a small scrape." Mitchie's mother said, walking to the kitchen, used to Mitchie's little accidents.

Alex followed Mitchie to the bathroom. "I know they're here somewhere." Mitchie mumbled while rummaging through the medicine cabinet. "Aha!" She pulled out a small box of band-aids.

"Let me." Alex said, taking the box from her. She picked out a bandage and unwrapped it. She looked up and Mitchie, still pale. The cut was tiny. Not even bandage-worthy. Alex stared at the small drop of blood that was escaping the small knick above her eyebrow.

"Are you okay?" Mitchie asked.

"Yeah, why?" Alex swallowed before gently placing the bandage over the wound.

"You look like you're about to pass out."

"I'm… I'm not very good with blood."

"Well you didn't have to help me."

"I wanted to." Alex breathed out before placing a soft kiss on the band-aid. "All done." Alex's smile fell when she saw the apprehension in Mitchie's eyes. "Sorry. I need to stop invading your personal space-"

Mitchie swiftly cut her off, pressing her lips against Alex's. Alex thought she was imagining things until she felt the girl grasp her face with shaky hands, setting her insides ablaze. Mitchie quickly broke the kiss and started to back away.

"I'm sorry-"

Alex lunged at her lips, wrapping her arms around the shorter girl's neck.

Mitchie, filled with newfound courage and adrenaline, slammed Alex against the bathroom door and attacked her mouth with her pent up passion.

'Screw bashfulness'

It turned into a playful, uncoordinated battle of dominance.

Alex pushed off of the bathroom door and walked Mitchie unsteadily backwards, across the small bathroom. She roughly pinned her to the wall, still locked in the deliciously forceful kiss.

"Mitchie, are you guys alright?" Mitchie's mother yelled from the living room.

Alex stopped assaulting Mitchie's lips and began trailing wet kisses down to the soft skin of her neck. Mitchie's grunts of pleasure sent her to a more primal state.

"Y-YEAH MOM, I JUST- oh, dear god- I JUST FELL AGAIN! Oh my gosh." Mitchie barely got the words out, too preoccupied with the girl who was gently nipping at her neck. Alex stopped to kiss Mitchie's lips, but Mitchie pushed off of the wall, tangling her fingers in Alex's dark tresses.

"Mmm" Alex was pushed against the sink as Mitchie nibbled on her bottom lip. She tried to gain control but smiled as Mitchie held her tighter against her. Mitchie licked Alex's lip and gained permission to explore her mouth further. Alex arched her back, pressing against her even more.

Mitchie moaned into Alex's mouth as Alex scraped her nails down the thin t-shirt fabric that covered her back.

Alex managed to push off of the sink, but sent them both ungracefully to the ground. Their kisses became more frantic, both afraid of losing the moment, as they wrestled on the ground for dominance.

Alex straddled Mitchie's waist. "Alex" Mitchie said against her lips. "Alex!"

Alex broke the kiss, breathing heavily.

"My mom could walk in." Mitchie panted.

They stayed on the ground, catching their breath for a moment. Alex looked at Mitchie with confusion in her features. "What just happened?" She breathed out.

"I have no idea."

Alex's growing smile spread onto Mitchie's face as she sweetly pecked her on the lips.

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**Yay. Maybe things will start to get fluffy now. Or maybe they'll start to get angsty. *tum tum tum***


	8. Mitchie 3, Alex 0

**A/N: *nervous giggle* hope you guys aren't mad at me for not updating for about a month…**

**This update is kind of short too…**

***runs away***

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Alex and Mitchie were sitting closely on the couch in the living room of Mitchie's loft. The delicious smell of homemade cooking wafted in from the kitchen where Mitchie's mother busied herself over the stove.

"That smells soo good." Alex broke her gaze from the television to stare in the direction of the kitchen.

"Yeah. I can't believe she's cooking. She usually hates cooking considering she does it for a living." Mitchie stated.

"I meant you." Alex said, looking at Mitchie with a silly, faux-seductive stare.

"No you didn't" Mitchie laughed and leaned onto Alex, shoving a small cushion into her face.

Mitchie heard a muffled complaint. "Oh, gross, my mouth was open."

"Maybe you should learn how to close it." Mitchie giggled, still on top of her.

Another muffled complaint, "Why does it taste like a scented candle?"

"Ew, you got your germs all over the cushion. Wait, why do you know what a scented candle tastes like?"

"…"

Mitchie giggled as she moved off of her friend. Alex sat back up, noisily blowing her messed up hair out of her face.

"I actually don't think I _want_ to know why you know what one tastes like."

"I was young. It smelled like cinnamon… can you blame me?" Alex shrugged.

"… You're weird."

"I was young! At least… fifteen."

"That was like two years ago."

"I've matured a lot since then."

Mitchie made a stupid face at her, crossing her eyes and sticking her tongue out. Alex immediately laughed childishly at this.

"You're right. I wish I was as sophisticated as you." Mitchie teased.

"Hey girls." Mitchie's mom poked her head out from the kitchen. "Are you staying for dinner, sweetie?"

"Uh, actually it's getting kind of late. I was supposed to help clean up the shop tonight." Alex replied sadly as she checked the time on her phone.

"Oh, well I'll walk you out." Mitchie said with a hint of disappointment as she stood to follow Alex to the door.

"It was really nice to meet you, Miss Torres." Alex said sweetly.

"Call me Connie. It was a pleasure. Come see us any time." Connie walked over and closed the door behind the girls.

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"So, your mom's really sweet." Alex and Mitchie slowly walked through the parking lot in the darkness of night.

"Yeah, she's… cool. Very polite." Mitchie replied lamely.

"I guess I'll see you later?" Alex questioned, as they reached her truck. "Could I maybe… have your number?" She asked, suddenly feeling very shy.

"Yeah, here's my phone. Trade me." They swapped phones and saved their information.

"Alright. Well…" Mitchie said as they handed their phones back to each other. "I guess, I'll let you go." They both leaned in to give each other a quick hug, but miscalculated and ended up ungracefully bumping their heads together.

"Sorry!"

"Sorry!"

"It's okay."

"It was my fault."

They both stood in an uneasy silence as they fidgeted and chewed on their lips in thought. Mitchie opened and closed her mouth like she was about to speak a couple of times but nothing came out. Alex finally made a move and leaned in to give her a kiss on the cheek, but Mitchie unexpectedly intercepted it with her lips. Alex smiled against Mitchie's mouth, grasping the sides of her face. Mitchie deepened the kiss, pushing Alex against the truck.

"Mitch." Alex repeatedly tried to pull away from Mitchie, but couldn't seem to distance her lips far away enough. She groped her truck door for the handle and opened it with Mitchie still firmly attached. She giggled when Mitchie tried to follow her inside the truck.

"Mitchie." Alex finally was able to break away from her. "I really wish I could stay longer, but I promised my dad I would clean." Alex shut the truck door and Mitchie leaned in through the window.

"Do I get a goodbye kiss?" Mitchie pouted.

"What do you call what we just did?" Alex laughed.

"I call that, 'you just couldn't keep yourself off of me, so you attacked me'." Mitchie smiled smugly.

"What? I was trying to give you an innocent kiss on the cheek. We are 0-2. So far, it has been _you_ that's molested me."

"I did not _"molest"_ you. I just…" Mitchie protested, "shouldn't you be going home now." She said, defeated.

"Hah!"

Mitchie pouted and was about to back away but Alex quickly grabbed her face and pecked her on the lips. "Bye." She whispered.

"Bye…"

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"Where have you been?" Justin asked Alex as he mopped the floor.

"Nowhere." Alex sighed.

"Uh oh."

"What?"

"Who is he?"

"Who is who?" Alex asked as she walked to the kitchen.

"Who is the guy you love? I know that sigh."

"How do you know I'm not just tired?" Alex asked as she started to scrub the counter.

"Cause that was a love-sigh, not a tired-sigh."

"Like you would know the difference."

"Hey, Russos!" Harper came skipping into the shop.

"Hey, Harper." Alex smiled.

"Oh my gosh! Who is he?" Harper exclaimed.

"Who is who?"

"The guy you like!"

"Am I really that transparent? Can't I just be happy without being in love?" Alex cried out.

"Nope." Justin and Harper said in unison.

xxxxxxxxxx

Alex was taking an order from a customer from behind the sub shop counter. She was very distracted, too busy thinking about a certain brunette to function efficiently.

"So that's a turkey sub with a side of Torres chips and salsa?" Alex clarified as she typed on the cash register.

"No, I said tortilla chips." The customer said.

"That's what I said… isn't it?"

"You said Torres chips."

"Oh, I'm sorry. Right." Alex blushed as she looked back down at the cash register, surprised she would let something like that slip.

"Alex! You forgot to place number 35's order!" Alex's father Jerry scolded her as he weaved through the shop's tables.

"Sorry. I'm just a little out of it today." Alex said, rubbing her temple as she tried to rid her thoughts of Mitchie.

"Are you okay? I don't want my little girl to strain herself." Jerry said.

"No I'm… actually, I feel kind of sick. Can I take the day off?" Alex took advantage of Jerry's soft spot for her.

"Sure, honey. Justin! You're on register!" Jerry yelled to the back of the kitchen. Alex heard a muffled groan of annoyance as she took off her apron and headed towards the stairs that led to their apartment. Alex entered their home and was about to lie down on the living room couch when she heard a knock on the door.

"Ugh, who is it?" She yelled lazily.

"Your musical savior!"

"What?" Alex asked, opening the door. A ridiculous grin spread across her features when she saw Mitchie standing in front of her. "Can't you live without seeing me for more than twelve hours?"

"You left your guitar at my place. Thought I'd drop it off."

Alex stared at Mitchie's lips as she spoke, quickly slipping into a state of lust. She could almost feel the imprints in her skin of where Mitchie touched her as she reflected upon the night before. "So, like. You should totally come inside and hang for a while." She said in a daze, still staring at Mitchie's lips.

"Are you sure you just don't want to take advantage of me again?" Mitchie smiled, reveling in the feeling of power she had over the cocky girl.

"Oh, please! You're the one who can't keep your hands off of me." Alex retorted.

"Yeah, right. What were you planning on doing?"

Alex stepped closer and moved so their lips were almost touching. "Well, I was thinking maybe we could write a song or something." Mitchie closed her eyes as she felt the girl's lips brush against hers. "Unless you had something else in mind…"

"Nope, nothing comes to mind." Mitchie whispered.

"Alright, then. Let's just go jam or something-" Alex started to move back, but Mitchie grabbed her by her shirt and forcefully pulled her into a kiss.

Alex backed into the apartment, kicking the door closed behind them. Her knees almost buckled as Mitchie glided her tongue against the roof of her mouth.

"See? Just can't hold yourself back." Mitchie smiled as Alex pushed her down onto the couch.

"Whatever."

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**A/N: So I feel terrible for leaving you guys hangin'. I just want everything to flow. _ **

**Hopefully, this chapter will hold you guys for a little while?**


	9. Nice Pipes, Kid

A/N: Oh dear lord! *runs away from ZuZuLG and Mattsurf08*

I'm sorry!

*dodges water and a brick*

**xxxxxxxxxx**

For the next couple of weeks Mitchie and Alex didn't see much of anyone.

They were too busy seeing each other, spending most of their time playing music in Alex's room or chilling with some books in Mitchie's room. Either way, the day would always end with bruised lips, racing hearts, and a couple of bite marks. Every time they saw each other, they found it increasingly difficult to keep from pouncing on the other immediately.

This day wasn't any different.

"Sorry." Alex panted as she sat in her desk chair, distancing herself from the girl. "I lost a little bit of my control."

"It's okay." Mitchie said, equally out of breath. She lied on the bed with her arm resting on her forehead as she tried to recover from the tingling sensation Alex's hands left against the skin of her abdomen and thigh. "Alright," she sat up, "as you were saying… before you molested me."

"You liked it." Alex stated smugly.

"Yeah, too much." Mitchie grinned.

"As I was saying." Alex grabbed her guitar from where it was dropped on the floor and began to strum it. "If you use this chord progression for the bridge, it'll give the whole song more emotion. It gives it just the right amount of edge without being too dramatic."

Mitchie yawned in the middle of Alex's explanation.

"You're yawning through my lesson? After a hot make-out session with the girl of your dreams?" Alex questioned in mock-disbelief.

"Sorry." Mitchie yawned again. "You wear me out." She smiled. "Can we just take a nap?"

"I don't think it's a good idea for me to be anywhere near you right now." Alex said, staring at Mitchie's pink lips.

"Perv."

"It's like noon, anyways."

"That's the perfect time to nap. Come on. I just want to cuddle with my girlfriend."

Alex smiled goofily, almost melting to the ground. "Alright, _girlfriend_." She said for the first time as she moved from the chair over to where Mitchie sat on the bed. "I guess I could use a nap too."

They climbed under the covers and shifted around until they were comfortable.

"Mmm, this is nice." Mitchie moaned as she stretched. Alex turned away from her, trying to tame her hormones as she listened to Mitchie sigh in comfort.

'Think of something that's a total turn-off' Alex thought. 'Smelly guys. Sweaty men. Sweaty Mitchie. Mitchie, all hot and sweaty, breathing heavilyOKAY, that didn't help.'

"See, this isn't so bad." Mitchie yawned as she moved to wrap her arms around Alex.

"Yeah…" Mitchie started drawing shapes in the exposed skin on Alex's hip. Alex took a deep breath in, trying not to focus on her soft touch. "Okay, you're going to have to stop doing that."

Mitchie giggled into the back of Alex's neck before drifting off into slumber.

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"Justin, go ask the girls if they want to come with us to the movies." Theresa told Justin as she slipped on a jacket.

"Alright." Justin jogged to Alex's room and turned the knob carefully, trying to enter the room as quietly as possible so he could scare them. He straightened up when he saw the light was off and peered through the darkness.

Justin was about to speak, but stopped when Mitchie stirred in the bed. Alex was facing her, still asleep. Mitchie moved so she was practically lying halfway on top of her.

With her eyes still closed, she blindly brushed her lips against Alex's cheek, searching for her lips. Alex grumbled sleepily when Mitchie found her target, and sighed contentedly.

Justin quickly removed himself from the room as they started to stretch and wipe the sleep from their eyes.

He stood in front of the door, unable to process what he just witnessed. 'Girls do that sort of stuff all the time, right?'

He made his way back into the living room where the rest of the Russos were.

"Are they coming?" Max asked.

"No… they're going to stay home."

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After waking up, Mitchie insisted on spending the rest of the day outside in the sun. Alex grudgingly agreed, and let Mitchie drag her to the park.

"I don't think this is working." Mitchie laughed as they started to swing sideways on the swing set. "I think you're going to have to let go of my hand."

"I don't wanna." Alex replied childishly. She closed her eyes, enjoying the feeling of the sun's warmth gently caress her face. "Let's take a walk."

"Where to?" Mitchie asked as she stood up, chuckling slightly as she pried her hand away from Alex.

"There are a bunch of small shops over there." Alex pointed. "We could do some bargain shopping." Alex said brushing the dirt off her clothes as she stood.

"Hmm, do you know what time it is?" Mitchie asked, looking at a nonexistent watch on her wrist. "It's time for a rematch."

"What are you-"

Mitchie took off running before Alex could finish her question.

"No fair!"

Alex chased after Mitchie through the park.

Under the monkey bars.

Off of the playground.

Past the picnic area.

Through some bushes.

Onto a road lined with different shops and restaurants.

"Mitchie! Ugh!" Alex panted. "You win!"

Mitchie stopped running when she noticed she was no longer being chased and laughed victoriously.

"Hey, Mitchie! Wait up!" Alex gasped as she held her side and looked through a dark window of a shop.

"What is this place?" Mitchie appeared beside her, looking up at the sign. "Club Bean?"

"Hey, you know what? I think I've heard of this place. It's a teen club."

"What's it like?" Mitchie looked doubtfully at the shabby exterior.

"Only one way to find out." Alex winked at her as she pulled the door open.

The place was fairly large and dimly lit. There was a small coffee bar in the back and dozens of multicolored tables and chairs were set up all over the place. The one thing that caught Alex's eye, however, was the nicely sized stage set up on the side.

"It's perfect." Alex whispered more to herself than anyone else.

"Perfect what?"

"Just perfect." Alex said with a sparkle in her eyes.

"It looks like a coffee shop on steroids."

Alex walked through the chairs, towards the stage.

"This place has a creepy vibe. It's not located in the best part of town either." Mitchie said warily. "It smells like… evil." She noticed the word 'pain' was carved into the wall closest to her.

"Ugh, you're ruining the moment." Alex huffed.

"What moment? Are we having a moment?"

"Yes." Alex said as she jumped up onto the stage. "This is going change your life."

"What?" Mitchie walked up to the stage.

"You know… for someone who reads so much, you really don't pick up on context clues very well." Alex waved an arm, presenting the stage to Mitchie.

"What context clues?"

"Visual context clues." Alex said making a more dramatic gesture with her arms.

Mitchie stared at Alex with a blank expression. "Stage?"

Alex nodded urging Mitchie to continue.

"Uh…"

Alex made an even more ridiculous presenting gesture for the stage, flailing her arms.

"Dancing?"

"No!" Alex growled, tired of the spontaneous game of charades. "What have _you_ always wanted to do?"

"You want me to perform on this stage?" Mitchie looked at Alex in disbelief. Alex smiled and nodded her head enthusiastically. "Are you kidding? Do people even come here? This place doesn't even look like it's open.

"That's because it's not."

Alex and Mitchie turned to see who had spoken. A woman in her forties was placing some coffee cups on the counter. She was wearing mostly black, but her bright, wildly styled red hair contrasted enough to make her fashionable. "Kids don't usually start showing up for about another four hours."

"Why are you here so early then?" Alex asked casually.

"Eh, what else do I have to do? I come here to set up, then I usually just kick back and listen to some music on my killer system." She replied coolly, pointing to the stage speakers. "I've got a band performing tonight if you guys want to come back later." The lady turned away, walking towards a door behind the bar.

"What kind of people perform here?" Alex asked.

"All kinds of people." The lady turned back towards them. "Mostly bands, but sometimes we'll get some poets and dancers."

"How do you book gigs?"

"Alex-" Mitchie said in a warning tone.

"Most just come in and audition with the manager."

"Who's the manager?"

"Alex-" Mitchie shot a death glare at her girlfriend that went totally unnoticed.

"I'm the manager. The name's Jackie." The lady replied in interest. "The band playing tonight is okay, I guess. They've got a pretty good sound, but no emotion. Then again, who does these days?"

"She does!" Alex pointed at Mitchie with an accusing finger.

"What?!" Mitchie looked back at Alex with a frightened expression.

"Mitch, this is perfect." Alex lowered her voice to speak to Mitchie tenderly, kneeling down on the stage. "This is an awesome opportunity. I'm not going to let you live like you're scared anymore. You can't live life with the intentions of trying to just survive. You've got to live each day like it could be the last. Just trust me." Alex smiled caringly.

"So, what? Are you a poet?" Jackie asked.

"No." Mitchie cleared her throat and turned towards the woman. "_This is real! This is me! I'm exactly where I'm supposed to be! Gonna let the light! Shine on me­-_"

"Whoa! You've got some powerful pipes, kid." Jackie walked around the counter, clearly amazed. "I'm impressed! Do you play anything?"

"What?"

"She means an instrument." Alex hissed behind her.

"Oh! Yeah, I play piano."

"Great! I've got a pretty sweet grand we can pull out. How does next Friday sound?"

"Uh…" Mitchie turned to Alex, but her girlfriend wasn't going to speak up for her anymore. "That sounds great." Mitchie said with confidence.

"Fantastic! Here's my card. Just give me a call when you want to come by to do a sound check or something. I've got to do some inventory in the back, but you guys can stay as long as you like. Just don't rob the place." Mitchie accepted the card in a daze and Jackie left the two of them, walking into the room behind the bar.

Mitchie slowly turned towards a beaming Alex, bewildered and speechless. Alex squealed as she jumped off of the stage into Mitchie's arms. She clung to Mitchie and firmly placed a kiss on her lips as they awkwardly stumbled to the ground.

**Xxxxxxxxxx**

**A/N: Just tell me if the way I write how characters converse is too vague to follow. I just feel like it's not natural when I say "said Mitchie" or "said Alex", for every bit of dialogue.**

**:P**


	10. Koalas and the Color Yellow

**A/N: Okay, I know I told some people this chapter was going to be the epic one, but I decided it was better if I split it up some. So this chapter is sort of an informative/fluffy filler. But it's still very important.**

**So, the lyrics for the song I'm incorporating aren't going to be exact. One, because the correct ones are impossible to find online, and two, because I didn't want it to be exactly like the finished version.**

**This will hopefully make sense after you read it. I just didn't want everyone to be like, "Oh my gosh, Youreyesarelove, what kind of Demi Lovato fan doesn't know the lyrics to this song?? *shun*."**

**Yeah, so, the dialogue that is italicized is them singing. Blah Blah, on to the story.**

**xxxxxxxxxx**

"Breathe. Just breathe. You can do this. This is no big deal. You're just going to be performing in front of, like, over a hundred kids." Mitchie mumbled to herself as she looked at her reflection in the dirty mirror. She was standing in the small restroom in the back of Club Bean. The muffled sounds of a loud rock band and a cheering crowd were coming through the door, adding on to Mitchie's anxiety.

She reached in her pocket for her phone.

'Where are you?' she texted Alex.

She had not seen or heard from her girlfriend since early in the morning. Alex's absence was not helping her stress level. Her hands were shaking as turned on the sink's faucet and splashed cold water in her face.

"This is it." Mitchie sighed heavily as she heard the band's song come to an end.

She slowly turned away from her reflection and opened the door to a very full room of hormonal teenagers who, from the looks of it, were recovering from a mosh pit.

"Great…"

"Next up, we have Mitchie Torres!" Jackie yelled into the microphone as Mitchie squeezed through the crowd to the stage.

"Go get 'em." Jackie said to Mitchie as they passed each other on the stage steps.

Mitchie tried to smile as she made her way to the piano, feeling the intense sensation of being watched by over a hundred pairs of eyes. Suddenly her foot got caught in the cables of the amps. With a gasp from the audience, Mitchie lost her balance and fell off of the stage, onto the hard ground.

"AH!" Mitchie sat up in her bed in a cold sweat. It took a minute for her mind to fall back to reality as she rubbed the sleep from her eyes. "It was a dream. It was a dream."

The morning's sunlight was pouring into the room from her small window. Mitchie yawned as she lied back down.

"AH!" Mitchie was once again startled once she noticed she wasn't alone. Alex was sitting across from her on a chair watching her very quietly. "Holy crap. Is everything alright? What are you doing here? You almost gave me a heart attack."

"Sorry. I wanted to see you and you just looked so cute." Alex replied uncharacteristically shyly as she stood up.

"How'd you get in?"

"Your… uh… your front door was unlocked. I let myself in." Alex avoided the truth. 'Magical transportation would be hard to explain…' she thought.

"That's not very respectful. Kind of stalkerish, in fact." Mitchie smiled.

"Well, I guess I'll just have to make it up then, won't I?" Alex said as she opened Mitchie's door, revealing a guitar on a stand with a large red bow wrapped around it.

Mitchie's jaw dropped. "You did not. Is that for me?"Alex nodded enthusiastically. "What's the occasion?"

"I just thought since you're about to start your career as a famous musician, you needed a guitar." Mitchie jumped out of bed and flew into Alex's arms. "And actually. I hereby proclaim today, Mitchie Day." Alex stated in a deep announcer voice.

"You can't do that." Mitchie giggled as she pulled away from her girlfriend to look at the guitar.

"Psh, sure I can." Alex jumped into Mitchie's bed and picked up a book off of the floor, flipping through the pages. Mitchie sat down next to her as she strummed her new acoustic.

"So what was your dream about?" Alex asked.

"My dream?"

"Yeah, you woke up like you had a nightmare."

"Oh, It was horrible. It sounds stupid now. I dreamt I was at Club Bean about to perform. Then I fell off the stage."

"That's not so unbelievable." Alex smirked. Mitchie shot her a death glare. "Wonderful, beautiful, nice girlfriend of mine?" Alex smiled innocently. "What I mean is, you have nothing to worry about."

"I'll let it slide this time, but only because I owe you one. I can't believe you got me a guitar." Mitchie smiled brightly, inspecting the fine craftsmanship.

"You don't owe me anything. It's a present, not a trade." Alex groaned. "You just have to accept the fact that you have _the_ most amazing girlfriend ever."

"I can't believe how nice this is. I've never had an acoustic."

"Acoustic's the way to go. Especially when you're starting out." Alex replied as she skimmed over the cover of the book.

"I can't believe I'm going to be performing in front of a bunch of strangers in less than week."

"_I_ can't believe you have such a hard time believing things." Alex said sarcastically.

"I can't believe that Jackie lady liked me so much."

"Mitchie." Alex said sternly. "Don't make me take back that guitar."

"I can't believe you're my girlfriend." Mitchie sighed as she glanced admiringly at the girl.

Alex pushed herself up and crawled towards Mitchie. "Hand it over." Alex commanded.

"Why?" Mitchie pouted as she handed over the guitar.

"Cause I don't want it to get hurt…" Alex got off the bed and gently leaned the guitar against the wall before walking back to stand in front of Mitchie, "when I do this." Alex roughly shoved Mitchie back so she was lying on the bed.

"I can't believe…" Mitchie mumbled as Alex straddled her, "how amazing you are."

"Believe it." Alex whispered into her ear before gently nibbling it. Mitchie moaned, cursing the day Alex found out about her 'ear weakness'.

"Girls, I'm going to the store. Do you need anything?" Mitchie's mother yelled from the living room.

"No, we're f-fine!" Mitchie replied from under Alex.

"Are you out of tampons!"

"I don't know, Mother!" Mitchie blushed as Alex giggled.

"Are you sure you don't want to come? We could go get smoothies!"

Mitchie's eyes lit up. "Smoothies?" She quickly slid out from under Alex. "Come on! Smoothies!" Mitchie stumbled out the door in a childlike haste as she pulled on her converse.

Alex sat on the bed, baffled. "Seriously?"

xxxxxxxxxx

Mitchie sat across from Alex in a small booth, happily sipping her strawberry-kiwi smoothie.

"You are so cute." Alex giggled as she stirred her own. "So, you really like smoothies? I don't think I've ever heard of this place before." She said as she looked around the tiny franchise.

"For reals? Smooth Smoothies is like the biggest place in Texas. I guess it's more popular there because of the hot weather."

"Do you miss Texas?"

"Yeah, I guess I do. I like how fast-pace it is here, but I don't know how I'm going to survive the New York winters. I'm a wimp when it comes to cold weather."

"I'll keep you warm." Alex whispered seductively.

"Don't you just love this place?" Connie popped up with a drink in hand.

"Yeah…" Mitchie blushed, thankful her mother didn't catch Alex's comment.

"Hey, I think I'm going to go browse the boutique next door. Call me if you need anything." Connie ruffled Mitchie's hair before leaving.

"Argh!" Mitchie shook her head, trying to fix her bangs. "What has gotten into her lately? She's like a different person all of a sudden."

"Maybe I just have a positive affect on you Torres'." Alex smirked, resisting the urge to ruffle Mitchie's hair herself as she continued to be astonished by how adorable the girl was.

"Can't argue with that. I think moving here was the best thing we could have done. You really have changed my life." Mitchie went back to her smoothie.

Alex's stomach did a flip. "So what song are you going to play at Club Bean?"

Mitchie sighed. "I'm not sure. I've written some recently. I don't know what would be best for the type of crowd that goes there. I'm stuck in the middle between doing something heart wrenchingly acoustic or trying something with more edge."

"That could be a good song."

"What could?"

"Being stuck in the middle. Somewhere in the middle." Alex stared off into space in thought. "You know you could do both, right? All the good edgy songs are heart wrenching."

Mitchie nodded. "Yeah. Keep going on those lyrics."

"Uh, 'Somewhere in the middle'."

"What if we turned it into a plea. Or like, a pleading demand. 'I want to be somewhere in the middle with you'. It makes it sort of scathing in a way." There was a visible glint in Mitchie's eyes.

Alex nodded, starting to hum out a tune to go with the words. Mitchie quickly rummaged through her purse and pulled out a pen with which she began scribbling words onto a napkin. She chewed on her bottom lip and looked up at Alex who was contentedly slurping her fruity beverage. "Say the first thing that comes to mind, okay? It doesn't have to be remotely poetic." Alex nodded. "Think back to when you first met me in the bookstore."

Alex sang in a low voice. "_I knew where I was going when you left the room-"_

"_You're the kind of guy who makes me want to follow through, to you_." Mitchie interrupted, using the same melody Alex was singing.

"Do you have to make the song about a guy?" Alex grumbled.

"Sorry. I was in my song writing-mindset. Plus, I don't think I want to 'out' myself to a bunch of teenagers via song."

"Yeah, I see what you mean." Alex sighed.

"I like that tune. You make it sound… sexy." Mitchie blushed as if the word was vulgar, while Alex smirked cockily.

xxxxxxxxxx

After finishing their smoothies, Mitchie called her mom and told her they were going to catch a cab home. Once they arrived at Mitchie's small loft they went straight to work on her guitar, trying to find sufficient chords for their new song.

Alex grabbed the guitar from Mitchie and began strumming it, leaning back into the couch.

"I need more lyrics. Build off of what we had going." Mitchie looked determined. "_I've been trying to leave you for the longest time-"_

"_The second that I saw you I just knew I found my right GUY._" Alex chimed in. "_I like it, I like it, I like it._"

"_I like it, I like it, I like it!_"

Alex strummed the guitar harder as Mitchie's voice grew.

"_I wanna crash! I wanna fall! I wanna be-_"

"_somewhere in the middle, somewhere in the middle and-_"

"_Something! Is better than nothing! Somewhere in the middle with you!"_

Alex stopped strumming and stared at Mitchie in awe. "Wow. That was awesome!"

"You know, you have a really pretty voice. You should sing this with me at Club Bean." Mitchie sat next to Alex on the couch in excitement.

"Oh, no." Alex protested. "This is your spotlight. You're not getting out of this solo act. Nope, I'm going to be in the audience, happily watching you start your musical career."

Mitchie smiled bashfully. "Are you going to scream my name?"

"Definitely. I'm going to be all, 'Oh my gosh! Mitchie!! Woooh!!'" Mitchie leaned against Alex and tried to hush her loud girlfriend by covering her mouth with her hand. "Mitchie Torres!! You're so hot!! Ow ow! YEEAAH!!"

Mitchie laughed, replacing the hand that was failing to silence Alex with her lips.

"Mmhphm!" Alex tried to continue her obnoxious cheering. Mitchie pressed harder, moving her lips against Alex's so she was forced to comply. "Mmm, was that too much?"

Mitchie broke the kiss. "Just a little."

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Over the next four days, they worked on the song diligently and Mitchie gradually became more and more frantic. One night, Alex had to calm her down from a small panic attack. It was one of Alex's most frightening, yet fondest memories.

Flashback

"_Alex! Can you get the door!" Alex's mother yelled from somewhere on the second floor. _

_Alex was lying on the living room couch. "Ugh! Comfy!" She groaned._

"_Alexandra Margarita Russo!" Theresa warned._

"_Fine, fine." Alex rolled off the couch and shuffled to the door. When she answered it a very pale and hyperventilating Mitchie greeted her._

"_Oh my gosh, Mitch. What's wrong?" Alex instantly engulfed her in a warm hug._

"_Can't. Do. It." Mitchie said in between breaths._

"_Just calm down. Come on." Alex steadied her as they walked to her room and sat on the bed. "Shhh, calm down. Tell me what's wrong."_

"_I can't. Do this. I can't do it. What if they hate me? Then everything I've ever wanted. Will be destroyed. Everything I've dreamed of."_

_Alex held Mitchie's face in her hands, gently wiping away some stray tears with her thumbs. "Mitch." Alex whispered, looking right into her eyes. "How many times do I have to tell you you're amazing?" she smiled tenderly. "I'm gong to be there with you. You don't have to focus on anyone else. I promise, you're going to be fine. Better than fine." Alex wrapped her arms around Mitchie protectively. Mitchie responded by snuggling in closer, practically getting in her lap._

"_I love-…I'm so glad I met you." Mitchie whispered into Alex's neck. "I've never felt so comfortable around anyone else."_

_In the dim lamp light of Alex's retro room, a lone tear left an incriminating trail down Alex's face. It went unnoticed by the world, even Alex, who was not yet familiar enough with tears to understand their purpose. "You don't know how happy that makes me." Alex whispered resting her chin on Mitchie's head._

That night they connected on an emotional level they had not reached yet. After Mitchie had calmed down, they spent the rest of the night cuddling and talking about nothing in particular. Random things like koalas and the color yellow.

Mitchie stared dreamily into Alex's bright eyes as she listened to her low, soothing voice. Every now and then she would place a chaste kiss on Alex's lips, as if to remind herself the girl was real.

**xxxxxxxxxx**

**A/N: Soooo, to me, this wasn't too confusing. But I've read over this chapter too many times for my judgment to be reliable anymore.**

**Yes, the song I used is "The Middle" by Demi Lovato. That is the most awesomely intense/edgy song she's come out with in my opinion.**

**If you haven't heard the song before then… WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?? GO LISTEN TO IT!! THEN RE-READ THE CHAPTER!!**

**Ahah, you don't have to do the last part, but if you're a fan of Demi, then you'll definitely love the song. I may be perverted, but the song really is sexy. lol**

**ANYWAYS, I'm done promoting Demi's music. And without a doubt the next chapter is going to be the "epic" one.**


	11. ARGGHH!

**A/N: Dude! Is anyone still reading this?? Okay, so I know I haven't updated in a while, but I have a somewhat of an explanation. First of all, my appendix ruptured!! It was the most painful thing I've ever experienced. Apparently it was perforated sometime early on in the day then I felt it actually rupture later on after being in the emergency room for hours. I could've died!! Seriously, hospitals need to work more efficiently.**

**Usually, it would have been a routine procedure to remove my appendix, but I had some complications so I spent a couple of weeks in the hospital. Secondly, I've been horribly busy with end of school activities, but I know that's no excuse. I am officially back though. I've missed this.**

**And OMG how many times can I promise the next chapter to be the intense one?? Cause this isn't it!!! It's the next one!! But I'm uploading them both around the same time so no one throws cyber-bricks at me or anything. Ha!**

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Friday

Mitchie stirred in her comfortable bed, snuggling into her comforter. She let out a strained groan as she stretched and glanced at her clock.

12:30 pm

"Oh my gosh!" She quickly stumbled out of her bed and dashed towards her shower.

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"That'll be fourteen dollars and twenty seven cents, please." Alex said to a customer as Justin placed a sub on the counter.

"Hey, Alex, isn't today the day of Mitchie's performance thingy?" Justin asked as he made his way back to the kitchen.

Suddenly, the sub shop doors burst open, revealing a particularly insane looking Mitchie. "Alex! I have no clothes!" Everyone in the shop went silent at Mitchie's outburst. "Oh, jeez, sorry." Mitchie ducked her head in embarrassment as she quickly walked over to Alex.

"Wanna try that again?" Alex smirked.

"Quiet, you! I'm just a little stressed, I mean, this is my first performance, and I have no idea how it's going to turn out or if I'm going to be able to play the piano properly, let alone sing, plus I want to make a good impression and unfortunately that includes being physically attractive and I have absolutely no idea what to wear, I mean I don't even have anything that looks good-"

"Mitchie!" Alex stopped Mitchie's rant. "Breathe." Mitchie nodded and inhaled deeply. "You look perfect, just a tad… frazzled." Alex smoothed down some of Mitchie's hair.

"I look frazzled?" Mitchie quickly picked up a napkin dispenser and checked her reflection. "Argh, I didn't do anything with my hair. I woke up at 12:30! I've never slept in that late before. Maybe I'm sick or something, and if I'm sick then that means I won't feel well tonight so my performance is gonna suck-"

"Did you say you woke up at 12:30?"

"Yes." Mitchie replied out of breath.

"Psh, I always sleep in."

"This is your fault." Mitchie's eyes widened in realization. "You're a bad influence on me!" She pointed an accusing finger at Alex's nose.

"You're cute when you're stressed." Alex giggled throatily as she moved Mitchie's hand away.

"Don't try to charm me when I'm scolding you. I'm on to you." Mitchie narrowed her eyes.

"You caught me. First step, sleeping in. Next step, breaking curfew! MUAHAHAHA!" Alex threw her hands in the air in emphasis as she laughed loudly.

"Okay, okay!" Mitchie tried to quiet her girlfriend, becoming very aware of the stares they were receiving. "I'm just a bit freaked out. I want tonight to be perfect."

"Perfection isn't something you should strive for." Alex wiped her hands with a rag. "It's all right, there's like a good five hours until your performance. You've got time. How about I make us a sandwich then we can see if I've got anything you'd want to wear?"

Mitchie nodded as she took a seat at the bar, taking deep breaths to steady her nerves.

Alex turned towards the kitchen. "One turkey sub!"

"Got it!" Justin yelled back through the window. "Hey, wait! I'm not making a sandwich for you, Alex." He smiled sarcastically as he picked up a comic book he had been reading.

"It was worth a try." Alex shrugged, looking back at Mitchie. She was still taking deep breaths, but now was staring off into space with a frightened expression. "Hey, it's okay." Alex looked around before placing a sweet kiss on her cheek. "I'll be right back. Just… don't hyperventilate."

Mitchie nodded, but her expression didn't change.

Justin slinked out of the kitchen, pleased to see Alex actually working, even if it was for herself. He walked over to Mitchie and waved his hand in front of her unfocused stare, but she didn't flinch.

"So, Mitchie. You're getting pretty close to Alex. I don't see how she keeps friends with that attitude of hers. And she's not exactly the sharpest tool in the shed, if you know what I mean. She's mean too."

Justin eyed her closely but she didn't look up at him or respond.

"You know, I've got a 4.0 grade point average. And I'm captain of the chess club." Justin leaned against the counter, accidentally knocking over some silverware. "If you want, I could get you in the club. It's pretty exclusive, but I _am_ the head honcho."

Mitchie looked up at Justin. "Sorry, what?"

"Am I invisible to everyone?" Justin exclaimed.

"Yup." Alex walked behind the counter with a plate of food. Justin trudged back to the kitchen muttering incoherently under his breath. "Come on, let's split this upstairs."

"Okay." Mitchie smiled gratefully.

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"You know, I don't see what's wrong with what you have on right now." Alex said through a mouthful of food. "You look hot. I love simple v-necks."

"That's just it, though. It's too simple." Mitchie said as she looked through Alex's massive closet in awe. "You have _so_ many clothes. Do you ever wear the same thing twice?"

"Rarely."

"How about this?" Mitchie turned around holding a bright red cocktail dress with a huge smile of enthusiasm.

"Seriously?" Alex questioned with a raised brow.

"Why?" Her smile fell. "You think it's too much?"

"Mitch, you're performing in a teen club/coffee shop. You need to grunge down." Alex walked past Mitchie to pick out something more suitable.

"I just want to make a good impression, and sadly, the way you look has a lot to do with how people judge you."

"Don't worry. I'm not going to make you ugly. That's not even possible." Alex said as she grabbed a red Beatles T and a pair of black skinny jeans. Mitchie couldn't help but smile at Alex's unintentional, cheesy compliment. "Here. I know you like the Beatles."

"That, I do." Mitchie was delighted at the choice. "I'm gonna go change."

"Down the hall, to the left." Alex told her, even though she knew where the restroom was. It was one of those things Alex always did that Mitchie loved and was sure no one else would find thoughtful. Mitchie turned to leave, but Alex grabbed her by the wrist and pulled them into each other.

Mitchie swallowed hard, trying not to show any weakness as Alex stared intensely into her eyes. "What?" She said a little more quietly than she would have liked.

Alex brought Mitchie's hand up to her face to press a sweet kiss on Mitchie's knuckle. "Nothing." Alex flashed her a smile.

"God, you're such a charmer." Mitchie smirked as she pulled herself away.

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Mitchie walked back to Alex's room clad in the Beatles Tee and black skinny jeans. "I really love these clothes-"

"Stop right there!" Alex yelled at Mitchie as soon as she stepped foot in the room.

Mitchie froze. "What?"

Alex was standing behind a painter's easel, wearing some paint splattered overalls and an artist's barrett. She leapt out from behind a rather large canvas on the easel. "I!" she spoke in a stately manner as she strutted towards Mitchie, "am going to paint you!"

"Seriously?" Mitchie placed the bundle of her clothes on the bed. "You're so freaking random. You're going to paint me?" She questioned as Alex took her hands in her own and guided her to sit on the bed.

"Yup."

"How did you set all of this up so fast? I was in the bathroom for like five minutes."

"I'm just awesome like that."

"Where did you even get all of this stuff?"

"…Magic." Alex giggled to herself as she positioned the easel in front of the bed.

"You're so weird. I don't have to be nude, do I?" Mitchie joked.

"Of course not, you perv." Alex picked up a paintbrush and dipped the tip into a small bowl of black paint. "Unless… that's what you want." Mitchie threw a pillow, hitting Alex in the face. "Fine! Okay. Just be still."

Alex started her masterpiece once Mitchie settled into a comfortable position on the bed. Mitchie watched Alex, greedily taking in every aspect of her flawless features.

"I never knew you were the artistic type. I mean, I know you're musically artistic, but-"

"Shhh." Alex looked up from her canvas, her eyes squinted in concentration. "This is romantic. It's like Ghost."

"Except you're not making pottery, and I'm not a ghost."

"Okay, it's nothing like Ghost."

Alex went back to painting in silence, glancing up at Mitchie every now and then. Mitchie wondered what Alex saw when she looked at her. For a moment, Alex held their gaze, biting her lip in concentration.

Mitchie felt the heat rise in her cheeks at the intensity Alex's eyes held.

"Stop." Alex said, her eyebrows furrowed.

"What?"

"You're feeling self-conscious. Stop it."

Mitchie was about to open her mouth to protest the truthful accusation.

"You-You're so beautiful." Alex said a bit breathlessly before focusing her attention back to her painting.

Mitchie's heart swelled. She opened and closed her mouth, unsure of how to respond.

"Alright." Alex smirked in pride as she stood up and looked at her artwork. "I'm done. Are you ready?" Mitchie nodded enthusiastically. "Alright. TA-DA!" She flipped the canvas around.

Mitchie's jaw dropped in surprise. "I'm not that skinny." She smiled.

Alex frowned as looked down at her stick-figure masterpiece. "I thought I did a pretty good job."

Mitchie laughed wholeheartedly. "It's beautiful." She took the painting to examine it further. There was a stick figure on a stage labeled "Mitchie" that was singing into a microphone. A crowd of cheering stick figures surrounded the stage.

Mitchie chuckled. "I'm guessing that one is you." She pointed to a figure that was scrambling onto the stage with a dialogue box that read, "That's my girlfriend!"

"Yup." Alex sat down next to Mitchie. "I also drew this when I was working the other day." She unfolded a piece of paper and handed it to Mitchie with the enthusiasm of that of a child trying to impress their mother. It was a doodle of Mitchie in bandages and a cocky looking Alex standing next to her.

"Jerk." Mitchie playfully shoved Alex.

"You love it." Defended, locking eyes with Mitchie. She could feel her heart beating as fast as it always did when Mitchie was near.

"Alex, I-"

"Do you know why people who like each other stare into each other's eyes?" Alex interrupted. Mitchie shook her head. "I saw it on TV. They say it's because humans find a kind of satisfaction in dilated pupils. It indicates lustful interest, so we're always subconsciously searching for them."

Mitchie was finding it harder and harder to breathe as Alex's lips edged closer to hers. "I think I'm in love with you." She said it so quickly and quietly; she was almost convinced Alex didn't hear her.

Alex pulled back slightly and stared back silently with an unreadable expression. The lighthearted mood in the room was replaced with heavy tension as Mitchie's confession hung in the air.

'Say something!' Alex's brain was screaming at her to respond, but she couldn't move. 'One simple sentence!'

Alex was too caught up in her internal conflict to catch the quiet "I think I should go." Mitchie uttered as she left the room.

Alex was snapped out of her stupor when she heard the apartment door close.

She considered chasing after her, but instead fell back on her bed and covered her face with a pillow, letting out a frustrated growl.

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"_Hey, this is Mitchie's phone."_

A smile small tugged at Alex's mouth as she listened to the voicemail she made for Mitchie's phone.

"She can't answer your call cause she's too busy being a dork-

"_Alex! Gimme That-_

"_Anyways, you know what to do! _BEEP"

Alex snapped her phone shut and rubbed her forehead as she lied on her bed. She thought back to the day she recorded the voicemail. Mitchie had feigned anger and told her she was going to delete it the second Alex stopped playing keep-away with her phone. Of course, she never did change it.

"Why am I such an idiot?"

"What's wrong?" Max poked his head into Alex's room.

"Nothing, Max" Alex groaned as she continued to massage her temples.

Max walked into her room and sat next to her on the bed. "It sure doesn't look like it."

"I'm just having relationship problems."

"Can I help?"

"No offence, Maximillions, but how much do you actually know about relationships?" Alex asked, sitting up.

"Nothing." Alex scoffed. "But I do know it's always good to have a second opinion."

Alex looked at Max skeptically for a moment before giving in. "Alright. Well, say there's this… guy that I like. I've never met anyone like… him. He's just so perfect and even though I've only known him for less than a month… I can't imagine life without him."

"Does he like you?"

Alex nodded. "He said he loves me."

"So, what's the problem?"

"I don't know." Alex fell back onto her bed and covered her face with her hands. "I've never been in love, Maxi. It's scary."

"So you _are_ in love?"

"I don't know. If I _was_ in love… it would change everything. It'd be so hard. I can't do that to him. We'd be breaking all the rules."

"If there's one thing I know about you, Alex, is that you're not afraid of change." Max smiled down at her. "And since when have you ever been afraid of breaking the rules?" Alex shrugged. "If this guy really means it when he says he loves you, I think he'll be willing to stick with you through the rough patches." Alex eyed Max curiously as he stood up, taken aback by his knowledgeable input.

He started walking towards the door, but stopped to pick up some polaroid pictures that were lying on her desk.

"So, _are_ you in love?" He looked at his sister seriously.

"…I… Yeah. Yes, I am." Alex sat up on her bed.

Max flipped through some of the pictures before stopping at one. He tossed it at Alex and set the rest back down.

"Then tell her that." He smiled gently before leaving.

Alex's jaw hung open in shock as she picked up the picture off the floor. It was one of Mitchie while she was sleeping. Alex took it the morning after Mitchie showed up at her door hyperventilating. Her hair was slightly messed up and the sun was gently shining on her peaceful face. Alex couldn't help but to take a picture of her sleeping beauty while she had the chance. There was a certain air of innocence about her that Alex felt determined to preserve and protect.

"Crap." Alex jumped off of her bed to leave her room, but Justin appeared at her doorway, blocking her exit. "Can I help you?" Alex asked impatiently.

"So, why don't I ever see Riley around her anymore?"

"We broke up like a year ago. What are you doing in here?" Alex asked.

"I just want to see how my baby sis is doing." Justin walked past her into the room and looked around. "What about Manny? He was pretty nice."

"He was a mannequin. You know I used a spell to make a fake boyfriend that would in turn make Riley jealous. What do you want?"

"What about Dean?"

"What about him?" Alex replied in annoyance.

"Are you guys still together?"

"No, he moved away."

"So you guys broke up?"

"I guess not technically. It's complicated. Why does it matter? If you're trying to set me up with one of your weird friends again, I'm not interested. I gotta go." Alex said as she left her room.

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**A/N: Uh oh :O**


	12. Fall

**A/N: I strongly recommend you listen to The Middle once Mitchie starts to perform. :D I'm kind of ticked that I can't use spacing effectively with this format, but eh.  
**

**This is it ahah. You guys are probably going to be like, "This is supposed to be epic??"**

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Mitchie furiously wiped away a stray tear from her face as she walked into Club Bean. It was dimly lit like it always was, and smelled like coffee and wooden furniture. There was a small group of "hardcore" kids sitting in the corner trying to be philosophical. It was just the borderline-depressing atmosphere Mitchie needed to mull over her thoughts.

She could hear the clattering of Jackie in the back as she walked over to the stage to sit down.

'What am I doing?' Mitchie thought as she stared at her shoes.

"Hey, kiddo. You're early." Jackie snapped Mitchie out of her daydream. "A local band's going to open the show tonight. They've got a pretty good fan base, so there'll be a good sized crowd." She brushed off her apron as she made her way towards Mitchie.

"Sounds good."

Jackie stopped in her tracks for a second. "What's wrong?"

"What?"

"Don't pull that clueless thing with me. I'm assuming by the red eyes and sniffles that it's relationship related." Jackie said as pulled up a chair. Mitchie reluctantly nodded as she looked to the floor, feeling dumb for being in such an 'oh so cliché' predicament. "Spill."

"I'm okay, really. I just came to think."

"Come on. It always feels good to vent. I need you in top condition for your performance." Jackie smiled caringly.

Mitchie halfheartedly returned a smile. "I think I made a mistake."

"What kind of mistake?"

"I think I moved too fast for this… guy I like." Mitchie played with her hands as she stuttered. "I told him I loved him."

"How did he react?"

Mitchie inwardly flinched, remembering Jackie was unaware of who she was in a relationship with. "That's just it. He didn't. He just kind of spaced out."

"Well, how long have you been together?"

"Less than a month."

"Wow. Did you mean it?"

"Of course." Mitchie finally looked up from the floor.

"Well, you didn't make a mistake if you meant it. You were being honest."

"I just think I might have pushed forward too quickly. I don't think he's ready for a commitment. It's not his thing. I feel like a fool." Mitchie played with a loose string on her jeans.

"Don't. You put yourself out there, and unfortunately, it didn't go well. But everything happens for a reason. Who knows, this tiff may have strengthened your relationship some way in the long run."

"I don't know…"

Suddenly, Alex flew through the doors of the club, looking around frantically. "Mitchie!" She spotted Mitchie and Jackie and started to run towards them, stumbling over chairs as she weaved through the tables.

"I'm gonna go set up." Mitchie quickly said as she stood up on the stage.

"Mitchie wait!" Once Alex made it to the stage she took a moment to catch her breath, then straightened up. Jackie and Mitchie waited for her to speak, but she froze on the spot. "I- uh." She stuttered.

"I'm guessing this is the guy?" Jackie questioned. Mitchie turned red as she nodded tentatively. "Well, I'll just be leaving." Jackie slipped away, leaving the two girls alone.

"I've been looking everywhere for you." Alex said, still out of breath.

"You found me." A struggled smile tugged on the corners of Mitchie's lips as she sat back down to meet Alex's level.

"Right." Alex breathed out, racking her brain for the words she desperately needed. "Your mom wants you to call her. You should tell her to come to the show." She carefully offered a smile.

"I left my phone at your place."

"Here." Alex offered her phone. Mitchie hesitated before accepting the phone. "You look pretty."

"Thanks." Groups of kids were entering the club now.

Alex tried to swallow the lump in her throat. "Ready for the show?" She asked lamely.

"Actually, I need to set up, so I'll talk to you later." Mitchie said as she stood up on the stage.

"Wait!" Alex felt her chance slipping away. "I have to tell you something."

"I'm all ears." Mitchie looked expectantly.

Alex looked behind her to see more and more kids were pouring in. She looked back at Mitchie, then sighed in defeat. "D-do you need any help setting up?"

"No." Mitchie replied flatly. She quickly turned around in disappointment and walked to the back of the stage to sort out the amp cords.

I love you, Mitch.

Alex gave the back of Mitchie's head one last pleading look before turning away. She made her way through the steadily growing crowd to the exit. Once she stepped out, she let the brisk New York air fill her lungs.

She noticed Jackie smoking on a bench a few feet away. She walked over and slumped down next to her.

"You know, smoking's bad for you." Alex stated.

"I'll keep a note of that." Jackie smiled as she flicked away the cigarette.

Alex smiled as she tucked her hands into the warmth of her hoodie. She appreciated the company of the woman's collected personality even if they weren't talking. They sat in silence for a moment as the sun set.

"Something on your mind, Alex?" Jackie broke the silence. "I am the guru of love tonight. I take it your talk with Mitchie didn't go well?"

"Why do you say that?"

"Cause instead of being in there, calming her nerves, you're out here keeping this old bag company."

"I really screwed up." Alex sighed.

"Yep." Jackie replied.

"What? Aren't you supposed to say something like, 'We all make mistakes, kid. It's a part of life'?" Alex was slightly taken aback.

"Sorry. Thought I'd change it up a little." Jackie snickered. "But yeah, mistakes are a part of life. What makes you think you've made one?"

"I haven't actually made one yet. It's an ongoing thing. I can't find the words to say what I mean to Mitch, so now she thinks I hate her." Alex struggled to explain herself.

"You want to say you love her." Jackie didn't question.

"It just- It all makes sense when I'm not around her, but… I just-"

"Can't admit it?"

"I don't know…" Alex put her face in her hands. "I hate how hard this is." She mumbled.

"You know, it really isn't that hard. Take it from someone who's fallen in and out of love many times before." Jackie stood up as a van pulled up to the club. "Sometimes it's hardest to acknowledge the love you have for the person you love the most. Or… something like that." Jackie went to open the door for the band members exiting their van with equipment.

"What does that even mean?" Alex yelled to her.

"I don't know, figure it out!" Jackie said over her shoulder as she entered the club.

Alex let out a frustrated growl as she leaned back on the bench. It was getting pretty chilly outside. 'I should be inside with Mitchie.'

Alex thought over what Jackie told her as the muffled sounds of music leaked from the club. A couple of songs went by as the sun finally disappeared.

'I should be with Mitchie.' Once the band's third song finished, Alex brought herself to go inside. She wasn't going to let whatever was going on in her head prevent her from supporting Mitchie.

Alex was surprised to see so many people crowded inside the club. There was now barely enough room to move around.

"Alright! That was our last song!" The lead singer yelled into the microphone, causing the crowd to erupt in applause. "Give it up for a new face, Mitchie Thomas!"

"Torres, you jackass." Alex hissed to herself as she squeezed through bodies to get a better view.

When Mitchie didn't appear, the singer yelled her name again, "Mitchie?"

"Right here!" Mitchie came running onto the stage with an electric guitar strapped on.

'What's with the guitar?' Alex questioned, thinking of the song they wrote together for the piano. The band was about to leave when Mitchie stopped them.

"Hold up, guys!" Mitchie spoke into the microphone. "I think this crowd could use another song from you. You mind backing me up?" The crowd cheered loudly. The singer shrugged and motioned for his band to stay.

Mitchie turned away from the mic to talk to the band. Alex guessed they were instructions as far as what key to play in and etc. Alex couldn't help the large smile that was plastered on her face as she watched Mitchie finally take a leap towards her dream.

"Let's do this!" Mitchie yelled once she got back to facing the crowd.

The drummer started the song with a simple beat, and the guitar followed. Mitchie grabbed the microphone with both hands. "This song is dedicated to someone I thought I loved." There was a sinister glint in Mitchie's eyes.

'Ouch. Is this about Shane?' Alex thought to herself.

Mitchie started singing. "_I knew where I was going when you left the room. You're the kind of guy who makes me wanna follow through to you." _

She sang every word with harsh purpose. Alex closed her eyes as Mitchie's velvety voice surrounded her.

"_I've been trying to leave you for the longest time, the second that I saw you I just knew I found my ride goodbye. I like it, I like it, I like it." _The band kicked up, "_I like it, I like it, I like it! I wanna crash!"_

"Hey Alex! Look who I found!" Justin appeared next to her bobbing his head to the music.

"Justin? What are you doing here? Dean?!" Alex looked in shock at the boy standing next to her brother.

"Hey Russo." The brunette boy replied with a thick New York accent, flashing her a smile.

"Oh my gosh!" Alex immediately gave him a warm hug and a kiss on the cheek. "I feel like I haven't seen you in years! How are things with Logan?" Alex yelled over the loud music.

"Very good." Dean winked suggestively.

"What?!" Justin yelled in disbelief.

"Oh my gosh! I'm sorry, Dean!" Alex mentally slapped herself for her slip up.

"No, it's okay! I'm telling the world!"

"Telling the world what?!" Justin yelled.

"I'm in love!" Dean yelled at the top of his lungs.

"With who!?" Justin questioned.

"Logan Johnson!" Dean screamed.

"Seriously?!" Justin stormed off, dodging a lame moshpit.

"Don't worry about him, he's just jealous." Alex smiled at Dean. She looked back over at Mitchie only to find she was staring right at her.

A cold chill ran down Alex's spine as they locked eyes.

"_Maybe, you'll save me. You're gonna take me from this crazy I've been painting!" _There was something extremely unsettling about the maniacal smirk Mitchie was shooting her way.

Dean wrapped an arm around Alex and kissed her on the top of her head. "I missed you, Russo!"

Alex didn't respond. She was trapped under an uncomfortable gaze that Mitchie seemed determined to uphold for an eternity. The band was going all out now. The song was at it's highest point and Mitchie was practically screaming out the lyrics.

"_Crash! Fall!"_ Mitchie took the mic in both hands and fell to her knees. "_I like it, I like it! Somewhere in the middle with you! Middle with you!"_

The song ended powerfully as Mitchie held out her last note with pure, raw emotion.

The crowd exploded in applause louder than before. The lead singer went to high five Mitchie, but she ducked away from him as she ran off stage.

"I have to go." Alex said without looking at Dean.

"Alright. I'm gonna get a drink." Dean replied, but Alex was already gone.

She pushed through the crowd, chasing after Mitchie. Once she escaped the mass of bodies to the side of the stage, she unsurely went through a door in the back.

She closed the door behind her to keep out some of the noise.

The room looked pretty much like a hotel room, probably where Jackie slept. A small lamp in the corner cast an eerie glow, allowing Alex to make out a small entertainment center, mini fridge, unmade bed, and a couch.

"Mitchie?" Alex croaked out.

Mitchie was sitting on the couch, hunched over with her elbows on her knees. Her head was down, but Alex could tell she was breathing heavily, whether it was from the performance or something else.

"Mitchie, what's wrong-"

"I told you. I told you everything." Mitchie's voice wavered.

Alex stepped forward, "Don't come near me." Mitchie stopped her in her tracks.

"What?"

"You just decided to talk to me? This is why you can't say 'I love you'. Cause you don't." Alex was about to protest, but stopped when Mitchie finally looked up at her. Her bangs were stuck to her forehead from a slight layer of sweat, and her eye liner was smudged, making her look darker. "It was a game to you." Mitchie almost whispered.

"I don't understand."

"So, what, you thought you'd stick around cause you felt sorry for me?" Mitchie's expression was of pure disgust. Her vision was clouded with too much emotion to see the genuine confusion in Alex's eyes.

"Mitchie, please. Just calm down."

"Don't you dare tell me to calm down. I can't believe this." Mitchie breathed out shakily as she stood up. "I really opened up to you." she walked up to Alex and dropped her phone into her hands. "I hope it was worth it. You really went all out didn't you? You know what hurts the most?" Alex glanced at the phone and back at Mitchie, close to tears. "I really did love you." Mitchie didn't look up before quickly brushing past her out of the room.

Alex stood, dumbfounded. She shook out of her confusion and quickly fumbled with the phone with her clumsy, numb hands. She looked at her missed calls and noticed one from Harper.

No.

She dialed her voicemail.

'_Hey, Alex. Just checking up on you. I haven't seen or heard from you in like a week. Having fun with that girl? Remember, you don't have to drag it out.'_

No.

_Jeez, the bet was to just get a kiss out of her. I know how competitive you can be, just don't hurt the girl. Anyways, give me a call b-'_

Alex dropped the phone.

'No! She doesn't understand!'

Alex burst out of the small room and looked through the sea of teenagers, searching for her.

"Hey, Alex. What's up?" Dean casually walked up with a drink in hand.

"Which way did she go?!"

"The singer girl?"

"Yes! Which way?!"

"She left. Pretty much ran out of here." Dean pointed towards the exit and quickly stepped out of her way. Something was in Alex's eyes that he had never seen before.

Fear

Regret

Tears

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Mitchie sprinted down the street, passing all of the small shops that were now closed.

'I have to get away'

Her breathing was already ragged and heavy before she even started running. Her lungs burned for oxygen as she gasped for the cool northern air. Giving into her lungs' plea, she slowed her pace to a jog.

'I have to get away'

She was panting out distressed cries as her body gave up on her. She staggered to the ground in the middle of the street. Like a wounded animal, she writhed under the dim street light whimpering shamelessly.

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Alex ran out of the club and stopped to look in both directions of the small street.

'I have to find her'

She rounded on a couple of guys standing against the building.

"Have you seen a girl in a Beatles T run by here?" Alex tried not to sound hysterical.

"Yeah, she ran that way." One of the guys pointed down the street.

Alex bolted in the direction without another word.

'I have to find her'

Alex forced her body to quicken its pace.

'She's too important'

Through the darkness.

'I'll die if I lose her'

Past the little shops.

'I'll kill myself if something happens to her'

Run Faster.

'I'm such an idiot!'

RUN FASTER!

'I'M SUCH AN IDIOT!'

What was that?

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Mitchie unsteadily brought herself to her feet, her panic attack still taking a toll on her physically. She clutched her stomach, suddenly feeling nauseous, and stumbled into a small alley. She leaned against the brick wall of a building and shut her eyes as tightly as possible.

Trying to get a hold of her emotions, she slid down to the filthy ground into a fetal position.

"What'sa pretty girl doin' out at this time anight?" Mitchie quickly looked up to see a gruff guy in his twenties holding a bottle of vodka.

Mitchie quickly got up to leave, but he stood in her way.

"You should come party with me." His foul breath hit Mitchie's face. "We could have lots of fun."

Mitchie turned to run, but the man grabbed her from behind. She tried flipping him over, but he was too strong.

"Stop struggling!"

Mitchie rammed backwards against him as hard as she could, sending them both to the ground. She scrambled to her feet and tried to run away but a pair of large, grimy hands wrapped around her neck. The man slammed her into the brick wall with his body.

"Don't try to run. I just said you were pretty." He said into her ear as he started to unbuckle his belt with one hand.

"Get off of her!" Alex jumped on the guy out of nowhere, putting him in a chokehold.

"Agh!" He stumbled back with the weight of her on his back, and rammed her into a nearby trash bin.

"Alex!" Mitchie ran to Alex's aid, but was backhanded hard in the face. The man laughed as he kneed her in the stomach, sending her to the ground. "Alex, run." Mitchie tried to yell before she was kicked in the head. She started to black out. The man shoved a hand in his pocket and revealed a pocketknife, flipping it open.

Alex stood up from the ground and tackled the man from behind with a primal yell.

Mitchie looked in horror from the ground as they wrestled with the knife, yelling and throwing blind punches.

The man gained control, pinning Alex to the ground by her wrists, straddling her.

Through her blurred vision, Mitchie quickly looked around her, seeing the discarded vodka bottle. With all the strength she could muster, she snatched the bottle and threw herself towards the man smashing it over his head.

Their attacker stopped his fighting and fell on top of Alex.

"Alex!" Mitchie shoved the guy off of her and dragged her a few feet away from him; surprised she still had enough strength to.

They were both panting and Mitchie's vision was blurring again.

"We have to get out of here." Alex said in a raspy voice as she staggered to her feet.

Mitchie nodded as she stood up, equally as unstable.

"You're lucky I'm the hero type."

"You're lucky I'm the damsel in distress type."

They fell into a hug, Mitchie grasped her like she was hanging on for life.

"Alex…" Mitchie straightened up. She looked deep into Alex's worn eyes with a horrified expression. She removed a hand from Alex's back, and took in the sight of blood dripping sickeningly from it.

Help

"Help! Someone please!" Mitchie screamed to no avail. The only soul near them was the unconscious lowlife that caused this.

Alex swallowed hard before falling into Mitchie.

She struggled under the weight of Alex's limp body. She tried to walk with her, but slowly collapsed to the ground in her weak state.

"I'm not very good with blood." Alex whispered.

"Just hang on." Mitchie frantically searched her pockets for her phone. "No! Alex, do you have your phone?"

Mitchie heard Alex mumbling something incoherently.

"What?"

"We are in a state of desperation, take us to Waverly Sub Station..." Alex mumbled.

"What?"

Darkness

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	13. I killed her, I love her

**A/N: Cliffhangers are the worst ahah. Shoutout to my girl Tomatoes, who initially kicked my writing butt into gear :P. So you can thank her.**

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'I'm dead.'

Mitchie couldn't see anything. She felt as though she was falling through very warm air, but couldn't move a muscle.

'Alex…'

The sounds of muffled voices started to grow as the falling sensation faded.

"Oh my god! Mom, Dad! Alex is hurt!"

Mitchie's head was pounding painfully as she blinked. "Wh-Where am I."

"What? Alex! My baby, what happened!? Jerry! Jerry! Max, go get your father!"

Mitchie's surroundings came into focus. She was on the ground, holding an injured Alex in her lap. She saw they were now in the Sub Station with Alex's family rushing around them.

Theresa dropped down next to them, horrified at the sight of blood. Mitchie felt the warm liquid seeping into her clothes from Alex's wound.

"What happened? Where is she hurt?" Theresa tried to sound calm.

"Her back. There was a guy. He stabbed her." Mitchie struggled to explain. Her mind was trying to focus past the pain. "Alex saved me." She looked down at Alex. Her eyes were closed in pain. She was mumbling softly as she breathed shallowly through her mouth.

"Are you hurt?" Theresa brushed Mitchie's bangs out of the way to look at her more carefully.

Mitchie shook her head, immediately regretting it as she swallowed past the nausea. "Not as bad as Alex. But. My head."

Max bounded down the stairs, followed by Alex's father who was carrying a large book. "Max, I need you to use this spell on them very carefully! Just relax and think clearly."

Max pried his eyes away from his hurt sister to look fearfully at his father. "But I just got my powers! Where's Justin?"

"Justin's not here! It's okay, you can do this." Jerry handed him the book.

"Uh- Amelioratum Resuscitatum!" Max stuttered. He looked up to see nothing seemed to have changed. "It's not doing anything!"

"You can do this! Just focus." Jerry told his son.

"AMELIORATUM RESUSCITATUM!"

There was a familiar bright flash of light. Mitchie felt a delicious warmth fill her body and the pain in her head lessen.

"Good boy, Max. Go call 911." Max nodded, running to the kitchen for the phone. "That should have stopped the bleeding for now, but we need to get them to the hospital. Magic can only do so much."

"Magic? How did we get here?" Mitchie mumbled as she fought against her exhaustion.

"Jerry, what about the emergency wizards?" Theresa asked as she gently tried to pull Alex off of Mitchie.

"Wait! Don't move her. We don't know what kind of injuries she has." Jerry kneeled down next to the three. "They can't do anything more than what mortals can do here with Mitchie. It's against wizard code. Besides, how would we explain it to her mother? It's best this way."

Mitchie felt warm tears start to pour from her face. "I tried my best to help her." Emotion washed over her as everything started to set in. "The guy was too strong. She was just trying to protect me. It's my fault."

"Shh, sweetie." Theresa pressed her hand against Mitchie's cheek. "Everything's going to be okay."

xxxxxx

"Alex, you have to stay awake. Please." Mitchie kept mumbling, fighting off her own waves of unconsciousness as they waited.

"I'm- not very good with blood." Alex whispered.

Moments later Mitchie opened her eyes to see two men in uniforms kneeling down to them. They tried to move Alex, but she wouldn't loosen her grip on Mitchie.

"Alex, we need to get you into an ambulance." Mitchie said into Alex's ear.

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_I need the some more gauze!_

Alex woke up with a start, gasping, and recklessly trying to sit up to no avail. She ripped at the restraining neck brace and the IV in her arm.

_Stop! Please, Miss, you have to calm down. You're going to be fine._

Alex didn't hear him. She frantically searched her surroundings for Mitchie, but she was nowhere to be found.

"Where's Mitchie! Is she alright?" Alex yelled.

_Your friend is going to be fine. Just calm down._

Alex breathed heavily, her eyes glazed over. "Where is my friend? Is she alright?!" Alex yelled again.

_Alex, sweetheart, you're in an ambulance. Mommy's right here._

"Please!"

_I can't stop the bleeding, Ted. We need to unload quickly. She's moving too much._

"Mitchie?"

Alex was unloaded off of the ambulance and quickly wheeled inside.

Her vision started to fade as darkness began to take over again.

_Another patient. Name, Mitchie Torres._

Alex's eyes shot open. "Mitchie?!" As Alex was wheeled through the hall, she caught a glimpse of an unmoving Mitchie lying on a gurney. 'I killed her.' "I KILLED HER!" Alex started convulsing, fighting under the restraint of the nurses.

_She's going into shock! She's lost too much blood!_

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Circulatory Shock. Specifically, Neurogenic Shock.- Caused by cases of spinal cord injury or **blood loss**.

Symptoms:

-Anxiety, restlessness, **altered mental state**.

-A rapid, weak, thready pulse due to decreased blood flow.

-Warm, clammy skin.

-Rapid and shallow respirations.

-Hypothermia due to decreased perfusion and evaporation of sweat.

-Thirst and dry mouth.

-Fatigue.

-Distracted look in the eyes or staring into space, often with pupils dilated.

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Where's Alex? Is she okay? Where's Alex?!

"Where's Alex?" Mitchie was mumbling in her sleep as she tossed and turned on the hospital bed.

Connie was sitting next to the bed, holding her daughter's hand. She wore a concerned expression even though the doctors assured her Mitchie's injuries were nothing serious. The nasty bruising and small concussion would heal in time with some rest.

"I need, I need her. She needs me." Mitchie continued. "I love her."

Connie dismissed the confession. "I know, honey."

After the fifth profession, however, a lone, sympathetic tear fell from Connie's face.

"I love her."

**I love her.**

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End file.
